Look Alive, Sunshine
by a-whisper-to-a-riot
Summary: [REWRITE] Johnny was captivated by the cute ex-cheerleader who sat beside him in class but what is the reason for her sudden change and why won't a certain redhead prep leave her alone? - Johnny/OC & slight Bif/OC
1. one

.

 **.**

Hi everyone! I've been doing a chapter rewrites for my previous Bully story 'Look Alive, Sunshine',

it's been a few years and I thought I would upload them for the fandom ^^

 **.**

.

* * *

.

 **.**

 **Look Alive, Sunshine**

 _ **one**_

 **.**

.

* * *

.

 **.**

.

There isn't much Natasha asks for these days, perhaps a sunny day complimented with some occasional breeze, for the lunch served to be edible for once or maybe just some peace and quiet to keep her mind clear when she read… but it appears even that is too much to hope for. She glanced up from her book when the female voices chattering turned into giggles, she let out a silent sigh when Mandy sent her a rather curt look before turning back to Pinky to whisper something in the prep's ear. For putting on such a show of being secretive they were far from discreet, especially with the volume of their voices.

" _Look at her sitting on her own again."_

" _Forget about her. She's hopeless now."_

" _But Mandy, shouldn't we ask her-."_

" _I said forget it."_

An almost uncomfortable silence grew between the cheerleaders when Mandy so bluntly told Angie off and it threw Mandy off guard; she probably did not mean to sound as harsh as she did and there was not much she could say now to take it back… not when Natasha was watching them anyhow. Mandy noticed Natasha's stare and she immediately let out a huff and looked the other way, her perfect ponytail flipping as she did, and it was also at this moment when Christy decided to speak up and change the topic for the sake of appeasing Mandy. Natasha glanced back down at her book after their conversation drifted along but she could still feel Mandy's eyes on her, it was an unneeded yet unavoidable power struggle between the two girls, the current and previous head cheerleaders.

After she flicked the page of her book she realised she had not properly read the final sentences with her mind elsewhere distracted. She flipped the page back and focused on the final paragraph, determined to digest the words even with the noisy chattering in the background.

" _Oh my god, can you believe Ted actually went out with her?"_

" _Well she was the head cheerleader before you…"_

" _Weren't they still dating for a while after she quit?"_

" _Everyone knows she only had that position because of her brothers."_

" _Mandy-."_

" _Matt's gone now and see how she's fallen?"_

That drew the line.

Natasha briskly clasped her book shut with both hands and stood up from the bench and began to make her way down the bleachers. Insulting her did not bother her one bit, she could care less about what Mandy Wiles thought of her, but bringing her brother into this was just despicable and she knew it. The cheerleaders immediately quieted down when they saw Natasha's reaction and Mandy looked almost nervous when Natasha sent her an icy look as she walked past.

She had been so engrossed with the girls, disgusted by Mandy's words that she did not realise she had walked straight into someone until she had already stumbled back at the book had fallen out of her hand after she ran into a muscular chest. Natasha mumbled a quiet 'sorry' as she bent down to pick up the book and she felt her patience running thin when she heard Mandy laughing. After retrieving her book she glanced upwards as she stood up and she instantly frowned when she saw Ted looking down on her, making her feel even worse than she already did moments ago.

"Ah- it's alright," he nodded back to her awkwardly, his arms had been slightly outstretched looking as if he was debating on reaching for her and honestly Natasha was glad he chose not to touch her; it would probably have repulsed her. "Hey um-."

Before he could finish his sentence she pushed past him after giving him a stern look, a look that emoted 'leave me alone'. She walked right past him… only to end up walking straight into another chest. A large pair of hands instantly grasped her upper arms and shook her slightly.

"You've got to watch where you're going, Nat," her brother Ben chuckled as he released her and brushed her shoulder slightly. "What are you so spaced for?

"I- um," she could not think of a snide comment to respond with so she simply shrugged. When Ben saw that she was actually down he asked again what was wrong and if something had happened. "It's nothing… Mandy was talking trash… she mentioned Matt."

Ben's expression turned rigid and he glanced over his sister's shoulder to look at the cheerleader who had her arms all over Ted, clutching onto his arm shamelessly and whispering things into his ear almost as if to provoke the siblings; he had a few good guesses what the dumb bitch was saying and he was sure to give her a speaking to after Natasha's left.

"Forget about her," Ben said unsuspectingly, not realising that it had triggered something in Natasha. She pressed her lips together as she watched Mandy laughing in Ted's ear and in turn he smiled at what she said… it just seemed so… uncanny. "She's off her rails and has no idea what's going on, she can just piss off."

"I know, yeah… it's just… it's annoying," she finally sighed and tore her gaze away from the couple, she noticed Ben had gone silent and she mentally cursed herself knowing that he was in a similar position to her if not worse off. "Anyway, I should go. I've got bio next and I doubt my partner is showing up."

"What, again?" Ben cracked a smile recalling her constant complaints about the lab partner that never turns up. "Okay, well take care then, yeah? Speak soon."

"Yup."

Natasha waved back and headed to class.

.

 **.**

.

Just as she predicted the stool next to her was once again empty like it has been the previous three months. She has not seen the seat's bearer once since she has hung up her cheerleading outfit and pom-poms, occasionally she would wonder where he would wander off to during class hours. Perhaps he just stayed in New Coventry, she had heard that was where he lived anyway so it did make sense for him to just loiter around there… but what was there even to do in that dump…?

Three abrupt knocks disturbed the silence and the classroom door flew open followed by Doctor Slawter's voice. Natasha glanced up from her notetaking and immediately understood his tone of surprise. Being dragged in rather unceremoniously by a prefect were a familiar pair of boys, faces that have not seen the classroom in months.

"Ah, Mr. Vincent… Mr. Romano, nice of you two to finally join us in class."

"Trust me old man, given the choice we wouldn't be here."

Johnny's voice was husky as ever and Natasha glanced back down when the pair were sent to their seats. She went back to taking notes from the chalkboard and the creak of the stool beside hers indicated that Johnny had sat down.

"Hello Johnny," she acknowledged his presence like she always did when he showed up. Despite being part of two very distinct and opposing cliques (at least previously on Natasha's part) Natasha and Johnny were not on bad terms, they were generally polite to each other on the days he showed up to classes and there had even been some light non-consequential flirting in the past.

"Hey doll," she heard him slump over onto the desk right away, this was normal for him and she smiled to herself wondering what his reaction would be when he finally noticed she was dressed differently. "What we doing today?"

"Make a guess."

"Dissection?"

"Bingo."

"Again?" Johnny's groan came out somewhat muffled as he was hiding his face into the sleeves of his leather jacket. Natasha rolled her eyes as she turned back to her notebook. "This is actually so shit."

"Please Johnny, you weren't even here for half of it."

"Oh, are we trying to get smart now, little miss cheerleader-?"

Johnny finally sat up and turned to her, his haughty smirk dropped and he froze for a moment. The redheaded girl was not as he remembered, the last time he saw her she was in her bright little cheerleading skirt and her hair was up in a high ponytail whereas today she actually looked like a normal person wearing the proper uniform with her hair fiery red curls let loose and the reading glasses he didn't even know she needed perched on her the bridge of her button nose.

Natasha gave him a side-eyed look and perked her eyebrow smugly at him when he was rendered speechless at the change.

"Johnny Vincent, I don't know which rock you've been hiding under these past months but I am obviously not a cheerleader anymore," she gave him a surprisingly friendly smile as she looked away again, gripping her pencil tighter as she finished the remainder of the notes.

"… Why the sudden change?"

"You mean… you don't know?"

"No, I guess I really have been living under a rock."

Natasha giggled slightly at his comment but her smile dropped shortly after and she licked her lips briefly as her eyes grew downcast, Johnny noticed this and realised whatever happened must have been something unfortunate. A more obvious hint being that girls that are pretty cheerleaders that boys jacked off to don't usually end up some nobody… Johnny wanted to say plain but she was far from that, even out of her cheerleading uniform she was still hot… in fact, if not better.

"You know what," she said as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear not noticing that she was practically mesmerising Johnny with her beautifully chaotic hair. "How about I tell you all about it the next time we see each other and we're not learning how to cut up dead animals?"

"Yeah, that sounds fair," Johnny nodded as he watched her continue to do her work but a small tell-tale smile appeared on her lips after he spoke and Johnny felt a strange twinge deep inside… completely unfamiliar and not something he has felt in a long time… especially not for this girl.

"So how did you get caught?"

"… Cops were in New Coventry on some drug bust," Johnny eventually pulled himself together to respond. "Peanut and me were walking down the street when they jumped us."

"Oh, that sucks," she offered him a short look of sympathy before turning to the board again. "Well, what about Lola? The last time you showed up you couldn't stop rambling about her."

"Yeah… Lola…" he mused to himself for a moment. "She sure is a nasty piece of work."

"Oh?" Natasha could not have done anything to mask her surprise, she honestly did not expect him to admit it straight up like that.

"Yeah, the slut's been cheating on me the whole time we were together," he frowned disdainfully, it was the same expression he always wore when he spoke about her, one that Natasha had grown familiar to seeing. "I ended things with her while back."

"Hm…" Natasha nodded as she recalled Ben telling her about Lola approaching the football team a couple weeks ago but had been unsuccessful after being chased away by Mandy. "Yeah well you know, Lola's a whore and you can do so much better."

"Ya' think so?"

Natasha replied with a knowing smile.

Doctor Slawter soon resumed the lecture and they had no opportunities to speak further until the dissection practical after. As the old man's droning went on, Johnny would steal glances at Natasha every now and then; this was a monumental change and Johnny was already enjoying it a lot. Not only did she look better but she seemed a lot more interesting if not nicer towards to him. He was actually surprised that none of the boys had mentioned anything this… but then again all the ones that did have classes with her, like him, never went to any of them.

"Alright, now each pair may retrieve a tray and begin their dissection."

Johnny frowned slightly as he followed Natasha to the front table to collect their tray containing the pinned dead rat, she passed the tray to him as she picked up the rest of the dissection tools and equipment. Johnny grimaced the sight of the dead animal and tried not to breathe the whole time he carried the tray back to their seats, and he only dared to inhale after he put the tray down and moved away from it.

"Still afraid of dead animals?" Natasha asked as she passed him his pair of goggles and reached for the scalpel herself. "I'm guessing I'm taking this one as well?"

"I ain't scared!" Johnny retorted weakly. "It's disgusting, is all!"

"Sure," she rolled her eyes as she began cutting the rat's skin open. Johnny squirmed as he watched her flip the furred skin over revealing the fleshy insides of the animal, and he almost looked away when she cut through and found the heart. "It's pretty ironic how often you get into bloody fights yet can't stomach a tiny rat being cut up."

"… Yeah? Well what reason does little miss cheerleader have to like cutting things up?"

"You don't have to like something to be good at it," she sent him a look for her final words. "And don't call me that anymore."

"Right… sorry."

Natasha offered him a small smile and he assumed she had accepted his apology. Then she was back to work and she finished the dissection in record time, as if Doctor Slawter had been watching their progress he walked over just as she placed the scalpel and tweezers down. The old man hummed and made a show of examining their, or more precisely her handiwork and praised the quality of the work.

"Excellent work as usual, Miss Evans," he nodded before turning to Johnny. "And Mr. Vincent, I see that even when you do show up you intend to do nothing."

There would usually be a quick insult hurled back but Johnny stayed silent and his jaw tightened ever so slightly as he felt the urge to grab the old man, it has been a bad habit of his for a long time now, he would easily lose his temper over little things that shouldn't really get to him… little things like this; anything or anyone that belittled him would get a beating. It's been better since he stopped seeing Lola, one of his main sources of grief, but little things could still send him off the edge… and things like the professor having a go at him was exactly what could push him to cause a scene.

From the corner of his eye Johnny noticed Natasha, how she smiled and nodded as the professor praised her, and he felt it should annoy him but it did not; he simply watched her lips curl into a dazzling smile and the way her blue eyes lightened up when the professor instructed them to do some further reading since they were ahead. She then glanced at Johnny once the old man has left and she smiled at him momentarily before walking past and taking her seat, she immediately pulled her textbook out and began reading. Johnny followed suit and took his book out but he disregarded the instructions and simply flipped through the pages without thought, pausing every so often to look at the colourful diagrams but otherwise he was just waiting for time to pass.

"You know it'd probably help if you stopped at one page."

"What, am I distracting you?"

"Yeah, a bit," she side-glanced him. "… Could you please stop it."

"What will you do for me?"

"Excuse me?" her tiny smile gave away her harsh tone and she tried to turn away before he caught it but he did. Man, it was both unbelievably cute and sexy. "You are not entitled to anything, Johnny."

"I reckon I am entitled to _some_ things, doll."

.

 **.**

.

After classes the jocks made their way to the football field for practice, the boys were to perform their usual drills while the girls practiced their cheers. It still did not feel right without Matt on the field with him but Ben tried to make do, everything seemed normal enough apart from his missing twin… and there was also his sister that seemed to have decided she wanted to leave behind every part of the person she used to be. Ben glanced forward at Ted and Mandy walking ahead, for a moment there he had forgotten that it was Mandy walking in Ted's arm and not Natasha… it was odd how drastically things can change in just a few short months.

Mandy was going on about the homecoming dance which was still two whole months away, it was beyond Ben how Ted can stand such a crude girl who only talked about herself and paid no regard for anything else. Then again there was not much going on in Ted's head anyway… perhaps it was a good thing he was not dating his younger sister anymore because to be completely honest those days have been rather stressful for him.

"You are going to have to get a new suit, I can't have you wearing the same one you did last year when you went with- never mind," Mandy had noticed Ben giving her a look and stopped herself before saying anymore. "… And don't forget the- oh my god…Ted, look."

Something that actually made Mandy shut up, this he had to see.

A frown immediately appeared on Ben's face as he looked up and saw his sister speaking to none other than the sorry excuse Johnny Vincent. Since when did he come to school anyway, last he heard he was spending his days picking fights with townies back in New Coventry… and were they always this close? He couldn't have been the missing bio partner this whole time, could he? They certainly looked friendly with the way she smiled up at him as she spoke and how he had his neck craned down to listen to her, his hands in his leather pockets and a smirk on his lips as he nodded coolly. They looked good together… and it was unsettling for Ben.

I can't believe she's speaking to him," Mandy sounded far from upset in fact that was a scheming tone if he ever heard one. "Right, Ted?"

"Uh- yeah," Ted seemed to be taking it worse than he was and he supposed it made sense considering Ted probably thought that she would be waiting for him to come back to her, and in a way Ben's glad that Natasha wasn't waiting around for Ted like a doormat.

"Ben, are you gonna let your precious little sister hang out with a greaser?" Mandy called back to him. "And not just _any_ greaser, but the king of the leather-clad prats."

"Why don't you shut your mouth, Mandy?" Ben gave her an unfriendly look and it was enough to wipe the smile off her face. "Natasha can do what she wants."

"Sure, if you say so," Mandy raised an eyebrow in his direction before tugging at Ted's arm. "Come on Ted, let's go."

Ben was about to follow when he heard Natasha's voice, he turned over and watched in disdain as she laughed at something Johnny had said as they walked to the gate and she looked the happiest he has seen her in a very long time. Ben had mixed feelings about it but it was her choice who she wanted hang out with now and who can deny her happiness when she needs it the most.

.

.

Unaware of the eyes on them, Johnny and Natasha walked towards the school gates together. They have been chatting nonstop since they got out of the classroom and they hardly even realised that they were heading in the same direction until they were already outside the gate when Johnny pointed it out.

"You know, I don't remember you being funny," Natasha chuckled when they reached the parking area outside their school.

"And I don't remember you having a personality."

"Oh, shut up," she rolled her eyes as she stopped by the bike racks. "Well I guess this is goodbye."

"Where are you going anyway? Don't you live in the dorms?"

"… Just running some errands. A family thing."

"Well want a lift? My car's right there," he pointed back at a beat-up Cadillac 1965 convertible parked illegally across the road.

"Oh, uh- nah, it's fine," she forced a smile. "I'm not going far anyway there's no need to trouble you… I'll see you soon, okay? … That is if you decide to show up to class now."

"No promises there, doll," he grinned. "I'll see ya then."

"Bye Johnny."

Natasha watched as Johnny headed to his car and pulled his keys out of his pocket, he did not look back again as he unlocked his car and hopped in before driving off. She let out a sigh as she turned around and unlocked her bike from the rack, she climbed on and began pedalling; she was never a fan of biking long distances and Happy Volts was still a bit away.

.

 **.**

.

After thirty minutes Natasha finally reached the large iron gates leading into Happy Volts Asylum. She stopped in front of the gate which caught one of the guard's attention, he walked over and rudely asked her if she was lost. It was the same scene every single time she came to visit, she'd think they would have remembered her by now but every single time she had to give her name and explain that she was visiting, then they would have to get it confirmed over walkie-talkie. Eventually she was given the clearance and the gates creaked open, she thanked the guard and cycled into the premises. She parked her bike just outside entrance and headed inside where she turned into cell block A.

There were two sides of Happy Volts, your stay can either be a pleasant rehabilitation or a traumatising one, and the more commonly known side is the insane asylum with their prison-like cells where they kept the violent psychotic ones but then there was also the hospital for the physically and mentally unwell. Thankfully her brother was still counted as unwell by the staff and was staying in the hospital as he recovered from his injuries.

"Hello there, Natasha," Amanda was the orderly in charge of the cell block her brother was in, she was kind and helpful enough but sometimes Natasha wondered how someone like her wound up working at Happy Volts. "I'm glad you're here… no Ben, again?"

"No sorry… I've been trying to get him to come but… well, you know," Natasha always assumed the worst when Amanda gave her that almost sympathetic smile and she can't help but think that something has happened. "Is Matt alright?"

"Yes, he's just been asking for you… and your brother," Amanda offered her another smile. "You should head on in, he's waiting."

Natasha thanked the orderly and headed down the hall where she stopped outside room A09. Matt was sitting up on his bed wide-eyed, staring at the photo album on his lap but not looking as if he was really registering the images. Natasha stepped closer and saw that he was looking at photos of the three of them, her, Matt and Ben. The photos were from last homecoming where they were dressed in their formal wear, there was one of the three siblings posing in front of the Bullworth mascot and another one of the twins with their arms around each other's shoulders. It can't be easy for him not to have his twin around, especially considering he hasn't been to visit once since the accident and Matt's been put here. Ben and Matt were completely identical, like Natasha they had the family's strikingly blue orbs that looked almost unnatural, the lightly freckled nose, the only difference was that they inherited their mother's shaggy sandy blond curls instead of the red hair Natasha got from their father.

Matt's eyes shot to her when he realised she was there and despite his smile Natasha could see the tears pooling in his eyes.

"Nat," he called to her, his arms outstretched towards her in attempt to reach her. "Nat, I've missed you."

"I'm here, Matt," she dropped her bags and sat on the side of the bed where he hugged her. "I'm here."

He hugged her shakily and sniffled into her shoulder. It was absolutely heart-breaking seeing her brother like this and all she could do was put an arm around him and rub his back soothingly as she has done so many times in the last few months. Matt used to be the star running-back of the Bullworth Academy football team and now he can barely throw a football much less walk without straining himself too much.

"Nat, when's Ben coming?"

"Matt, I'm sorry but he's busy today…" she replied uneasily, avoiding his gaze as he pulled away. "He has practice… but he said he'll come when he can-."

"Practice?!" he suddenly raised his voice and shoved her off the bed. "He won't come because of practice?!"

"Matt, please," Natasha stood up and stumbled a few steps back, trying to ignore her aching rear as she desperately thought of ways to calm her brother down. "I'm sorry but-."

"Fuck him and fuck you too," he said bitterly as his fingers began crushing the pages of the album in his hand and abruptly tossed it across the room where the album fell into pieces. "I hate him, the both of you…!"

Natasha began backing out the door when he picked up the vase sitting on his nightstand and before she realised it he had tossed it across the room directly at her, for the first time ever she was glad for the state Matt was in because the vase did not get very far and smashed on the ground about a metre away from where she was stood.

Amanda rushed in and gasped at the sight of the broken vase.

"Matthew! This is Natasha, your little sister!" Amanda placed both her hands on Natasha's shoulders as she asked if she was alright and Natasha could only nod as brushed her off and directed her outside. "How could you do that to her? She's the one that has been visiting you every week!"

"I don't need it! I didn't ask her to!"

Her brother's words sent a chill down her spine and Natasha just felt terrible after the whole ordeal. Amanda walked her out to the reception area where she was sat down on one of the benches and Amanda went to fetch a cup of water for her.

"Thanks," Natasha took the water from her, doing her best to keep it together but she was still awfully shaken from the incident. "… Is- he like that often?"

"No," Amanda shook her head with a sigh. "He's very quiet most of the time, only looks at that photo album you brought him… he just really misses you two, you know? Your brother the most."

"I try getting him to come, I really do, but he doesn't listen to me."

"Ben must be in a tough spot as well… it's his twin brother, I can't imagine how badly he's taking it."

"It sure doesn't seem like it when he's going on as he's always been, going to football practice and completely ignoring the fact that everything's changed-."

"Natasha, that's probably just his way of dealing with it… and I'm not saying it's a good way of dealing with it but maybe that's the only way he can… at least for now."

"… It's not fair… he needs to start taking it seriously… it can't be only me being the-."

"Nat?"

Both of them looked up simultaneously to see Matt stood by the counter, he was in his hospital gown and his bare feet were bloodied from stepping over the smashed glass.

"I am so sorry, Nat… I didn't mean to… I don't know what came over me…" tears began to roll down his face and Natasha immediately got up to pull him into a hug, despite him standing a whole head and a half taller than her she wrapped her arms around his neck. "I am so sorry, Natasha…"

"It's fine, Matt," she whispered as she patted his back. "No harm done, I'm fine."

"Matthew, we've got to get your feet treated," Amanda approached them. "Natasha, I think it's best you go for today."

"Yes, of course," Natasha released her brother and gave him a smile before turning to Amanda. "I'll leave things to you then."

"Will you come see me soon, Nat?"

"I'll try to stop by Sunday, alright?"

"And Ben?" he asked. "Will he be coming with you?"

"… I don't know," she smiled wearily. "I'll do my best."

A grin broke out on Matt's face and he waved back at her before being escorted down the hall back into his room. Natasha let out a heavy sigh as she headed back outside. It was obvious that he has gotten worse since she was last here but she was not about to let them chuck him into a cell, not when Matt still had a chance of getting better… if only Ben could pull himself together. She pulled her phone out and dialled her brother's number.

"Hello?"

"Ben, it's me."

"Oh hey Nat, good that you called because I've been meaning to ask since when were you so chummy with the greasers?"

"What?" Natasha's eyebrows knitted together once she reached her bike outside. "I don't know what you-."

"Don't lie baby sister, we all saw you leaving school looking very friendly with Johnny Vincent."

"…"

"I take your silence meaning I'm right?" Ben sounded ecstatic on the other end. "I bet you're with him now, huh? Well you tell him he better watch himself-."

"Ben, I'm at Happy Volts."

"… Oh, how'd it go?"

"Things got pretty bad… Matt threw a vase at me."

"He did what?" Ben's tone changed again. "Are you sure it's safe for you to keeping seeing him?"

"I don't care if it's safe or not," Natasha raised her voice slightly. "Matt needs me so I'm going to carry on seeing him… and he asked about you, you know? In fact, he needs you the most. So why don't you stop complaining and get off your ass if you're so concerned."

"Nat… you- you know I love Matt, he's my twin brother for fuck's sake. I… I don't know, I've just been busy with things."

"With what? You've been deliberately avoiding him since he regained consciousness and it's just not good enough! Mum and dad are gone and he needs us!"

"… I-I gotta go, Nat. I'll speak to you tomorrow."

"Ben, I swear if you hang up-."

The line went dead.

The rage that had been boiling and growing throughout the phone call was about to blow and Natasha was trying to hold it together while she was still on the premises of a mental asylum. She did not care whatever excuse Ben had the next time she saw him but he was going to get a beating for that.

Natasha shoved her phone into her bag and mounted her bike. It was going to be another thirty-minute ride back to the academy and she was starting to wonder if she should just let Johnny drive her if he offered her next time.

.

 **.**

.

Derby nearly groaned when they began to see the silhouette of Bullworth Academy's tall unwelcoming gates. He had just had a date with Pinky and for one reason or another she had decided she wanted to experience a peasant's date, which just meant that they were not allowed to take their usual transport or spend money. It was a bloody waste of time was what it was but at least Pinky had a good time, it should keep her off his back for the next week. Pinky was skipping ahead of him, texting on her phone when she abruptly came to a stop.

"Derby," she called in a hushed tone. "Isn't that Natasha?"

Derby looked to where Pinky was pointing at and sure enough it was the redheaded girl on her bike, what he failed to see was the reason why she had pointed Natasha Evans out.

"She just came out from that road," Pinky pointed to the rocky path with a mischievous grin. "Doesn't that lead to the asylum? … You think she's crazy?"

"… There is a chance-."

"Oh my god, she's insane! That's why she quit cheerleading!" Pinky gushed. "I have got to tell Mandy."

Before Derby can reply she had already began typing furiously on her phone as she walked ahead again, no doubt reporting to Mandy what she's seen. With a sigh and a roll of his blue eyes Derby followed after as he eyed Natasha one last time. It was a shame she was crazy, he always thought she was cute… but now that he thought about it there was someone else he ought to tell about this as well…

As he looked away from the girl, Derby too pulled out his phone to message his lieutenant.

.

 **.**

.

Natasha returned to the dorms that evening feeling rather sick. People had been whispering as soon as she got in and she could only wonder what the reason for it was, but she doubts it was anything important… it could just be the Johnny thing; if her brother had seen who's saying the whole school did not catch on… especially considering the girls she had to deal with.

She headed up the stairs and straight into her bedroom where she dumped her things on the ground and discarded her clothing. Since she moved out of her previous shared room with Mandy she found living by herself rather enjoyable, there was the privacy but there was also no more arguing about missing scrunchies or having boys over; though she would not have much of a problem with the latter now that she was single and people looked at her like an alien. Natasha smiled faintly as she remembered the time Mandy had caught her and Ted under the covers making out, her face was absolutely priceless and she just had to run out screaming which woke the entire dorm. Poor Ted had to run for it in just his boxers, it had been hilarious watching Mrs. Peabody chase after him along with the little kids screaming and covering their eyes.

Those were the good days…

Natasha got ready for bed but to get a can of soda before going to sleep. Clad in her jammies she headed down the stairs and into the lounge, as soon as she entered she had the urge to turn back around and forget she saw Mandy and rest of the cheerleaders on the sofas but she stood her ground and coolly walked past them to the vending machine. They were whispering again but this was nothing new and she was not going to let it bother her.

"Hey, if it isn't crazy girl!"

"… Excuse me?" Natasha turned around after receiving her soda from the machine. The look Mandy gave her was really beginning to get on her nerves and Natasha walked straight up to her and demanded an explanation.

"Don't play dumb," Mandy rolled her eyes with an annoying giggle. "Everyone knows about you leaving Happy Volts today… I thought you had to be off the rails to be sleeping with Johnny Vincent but I didn't think you actually were."

 **.**

.

* * *

.

 **.**

Please leave a review!

Always happy to hear from my readers :)

 **.**

.


	2. two

.

 **.**

 **Look Alive, Sunshine**

 _ **two**_

 **.**

.

* * *

.

 **.**

.

For the entire day students have been avoiding her like the plague, sure there were the rumours about Johnny and Happy Volts but then she was also hearing some ridiculous accusations. Natasha sighed as she walked down the corridor and groups of students began whispering to themselves.

 _"I heard she beat up Mandy."_

 _"She probably hangs out with Gary Smith."_

 _"Wasn't he expelled?"_

 _"Who's to say she's wasn't inmates with him?"_

 _"I reckon she's part of a cult."_

This was getting out of hand.

She had slapped Mandy (and maybe sprayed her with soda) but it was hardly anything warranting it to be called a beat-up. She has never spoken to Gary Smith nor was she part of a cult. She wanted to scream these things to everyone but she knew there was no point, there wasn't a single person that would listen to her anyway.

Once classes ended Natasha returned to her dorm where she dropped off her books and got changed into some casualwear, she pulled on a pair of well-worn dark denim, a white cotton tank top, then picked out an everyday bag and shoved in the novel she's been reading and a cardigan to keep her warm from the occasional breezes that have grown common in the past few days as winter was nearing. After she had everything she quite literally ran off the campus and got on her bike, just being around everyone made her feel uncomfortable, not only did they not speak to her but now they looked at her as if she was insane.

At the gates she turned left and pedalled down the bridge, she stuck on the main road and parked her bike on the concrete pavement right above the coast. The beach was her usual go-to place where she knew she would be undisturbed, most students like to stay on campus and the people in town did not treat her like some freak of nature.

Natasha propped herself down on the sand and pulled out her book not knowing that this tranquillity would not last long.

.

 **.**

.

In the abandoned tenements in New Coventry, Johnny was practically inanimate as he silently watched the scene unfolding before him; Lefty and Peanut were arguing over the last piece of pizza and frankly Johnny could not care less, it was pizza from a week ago anyway. There were surely other things he could be doing. Johnny grew tired of their bickering and stood up, he picked his leather jacket off the back of the chair he had been sitting on and headed towards the door.

"Heading out, Johnny?"

"Yeah," Johnny did not even bother to look to see who spoke to him as he sluggishly pulled on his jacket. Just as he was leaving through the door someone asked if he would get them some pizza and Johnny felt what little patience he had to begin with snap. "Do I look like your fucking maid?!"

The room went dead silent after Johnny's outburst and the boys exchanged bashful looks under their leader's heavy gaze. When no one spoke, Johnny simply grunted and turned around to leave. The reason for Johnny's bad mood was that he found one of Lola's old skirts lying around and he's been unrested ever since, quietly brooding away or snapping at anyone that rubbed him the wrong way (which was not difficult to do considering he was annoyed at practically anyone that spoke to him). If Johnny weren't so goddamn scary Peanut would have told him to grow up and get over it, but alas no one dared stand up to Johnny Vincent when he was in such a state.

Outside the tenements the black Cadillac was parked across the street, it took Johnny a good while to get to it with the traffic and mostly because he would space out when the road was busy and miss a chance to cross during the few rare moments the road was cleared. When he finally made it to his car, he hopped in and turned the ignition on; he really needed a drive, ideally a long one but there was not much he could go unless he drove all the way into Old Bullworth Vale and even then it felt it still would not be enough.

Despite being unsure of his route the sea was already coming into view and Johnny decided he would just drive along the beach towards the carnival then maybe even up into the hill then circle back to New Coventry. The cool ocean breeze was already beginning to have an effect, and hopefully the rest of the drive would calm him down some more and maybe he'd even be in the mood to get Lefty that pizza he asked for.

The bliss did not last long though. As slowed around a corner he saw a group of students down at the beach, it was Derby Harrington and Bif Taylor towering over someone and it was her red hair that first drew his attention to them. Without thinking twice Johnny turned the wheel and parked haphazardly on the pavement, almost knocking into some pedestrians.

.

 **.**

.

"I heard you knocked Mandy's teeth out."

Bif spoke to her in such a condescending tone and his expression was nothing short but unkind, Natasha wanted nothing more than to knock his perfectly modified teeth out. So she retorted if he would like her to do the same to his making both Derby crack a smirk and Bif laughed in that Bif Taylor way that sometimes made her forget that he has turned into an a-class prick.

Natasha almost recoiled when he bent down to her eye-level and reached his arm around her, with her heart hammering in her chest she kept her eyes glued to Derby who had taken a step back to watch them showing only the slightest of interest. Natasha stared at him almost as if she wanted him to intervene but she tried to keep her expression still until Bif pressed his lips to her ear and inhaled terribly slowly stirring her in a way that she hated. Bif has always been forward with her and she used to be able to repel him without much effort but recently his advances have been bolder and it did not help she was not feeling as sure of herself.

"You know Nat, you shouldn't give so much attitude now that your reputation is down the gutter and Thompson couldn't care less about you," Natasha shifted slightly when he squeezed her shoulder and she tore her eyes away from Derby, she tilted her head and met Bif's eyes looking more unnerved than thrilled. "Who knows sweetheart, I might just be the last guy that will show any interest-."

"Taylor, you have exactly two seconds to let her go."

The tension between Natasha and Bif instantly broke when the familiar voice cut in, both looked over their shoulders and found Johnny Vincent trudging down the sand and stopping a good distance from them.

"What the hell are you doing here, Vincent?" Bif spat back without moving an inch before looking back down at Natasha. "This is between me and her."

"She's clearly not interested in you so why don't you piss off?"

"How about this rat learn his place and stop sticking his nose in his better's business?" Derby took a defensive step forward, uncrossing his arms as if he's ready to fight. "Instead of worrying about others you should leash that whore of yours."

"What did you say?" Johnny practically growled as he stepped forward and squared up against Derby, holding the prep by his Aquaberry sweater. "Say it again, punk!"

"Johnny!" Natasha grabbed onto one of his arms and she tried to pull him back but it was no use at all as he did not even notice her presence while his mind was clouded by anger. It appears that Derby had not taken kindly to Johnny's hostility and he had grabbed the greaser back. "Johnny, come on stop it! … Johnny! … Bif, help me!"

Natasha did her best to get Johnny's attention but he would not look at her at all, desperate for help Natasha looked to Bif pleadingly and cocked her head towards the two caught in a scuffle. At first Bif looked almost insouciant of the whole ordeal but after seeing Natasha's looks he stepped forward and grabbed a hold of Derby, and Bif was able to tear Derby away from Johnny being the large boxer he was.

"Come on Derby, he's not worth our trouble," Bif pulled his friend back as he tried to calm him blandly. "Let's just go."

Derby hurled a final word of insults towards the greaser before elbowing Bif's arms off and turning around to leave. Natasha let out a quiet sigh of relief once Derby began stepping away and she noticed Bif was still stood watching her and Johnny, she could not stop herself from looking away from his gaze while hiding behind Johnny.

"What are you still gawking at, Taylor?" Johnny suddenly spoke and Natasha froze when she felt him pull his arm out of her hold, she expected him to barge towards Bif for another fight but he shifted around and held her behind his back almost as if to protect her. "Shouldn't you be running along now?"

"This is far from over, Vincent," Bif huffed before leaving without another word to Natasha but she knew the words were directed at her as well. It was only after a while when Johnny released her, he turned around and looked down to meet her face, checking if she was okay.

"What did Harrington and Taylor want with you?" he asked quietly, holding her arm gently when he saw she was shaking slightly. "You alright, doll?"

"Yeah… I'm fine. It's a long story," she rubbed her forehead with a sigh, she bent down to pick up her bag and discarded book. Honestly she wanted nothing more than to leave after such an event. "Bif and I kinda have history."

"What kind?" he beat her to picking up her bottle of water and passed it to her. "Here."

"Oh, thanks," she took it from him and tucked it into her bag. They began walking together almost instantly, and she was subconsciously following him to where he parked his car. "He's just… always been around me, even when I was with Ted he would still be after my attention… that kinda thing. I obviously rejected him because it was never going to happen even if were single… but now that I am single he's been… more forward."

"Guy can't take a hint, huh?" Johnny looked sympathetic. "… What happened between you and Thompson, anyway?"

"Well after I quit cheerleading I wasn't around Ted nearly as much as I used to be, guess he just didn't know what to do," Natasha shrugged as they reached street-level. "Then Mandy replaced me as head cheerleader and I guess it just didn't take much for her to convince him to dump me."

"So he just listened to her?"

"Well yeah. I mean come on, Ted isn't exactly the brightest guy," she forced a smile as they stopped by his car. "It's fine anyway, I doubt things would have worked out even if we had stayed together."

"Well, Thompson's a fool for letting you go," Johnny opened the passenger door for her. "Hop in, let's go do something."

"Uh, what do you have in mind?" it was a genuine smile this time and Natasha couldn't help but feel a little giddy from the smirk on his face after he shrugged back in response so nonchalantly in that cool Johnny Vincent way.

"Anything you want."

"Um…"

"Carnival?" he suggested. "I was heading around there for a drive anyway but walking around with you might be better."

"… Okay, yeah sure," she eventually walked towards the car and slid into the passenger seat. "Oh, I have my bike with me, it's just a little further back."

"No worries, I'll go grab it and dump it in the trunk," Johnny shut the door for her and she watched from the rear-view mirror as he jogged down the street to find her bike.

Natasha strapped herself in and licked her bottom lip to prevent herself from smiling wider. This was the last thing she expected herself to be doing after such a terrible day but she cannot deny that it has really helped with her mood, she had thought her day was definitely ruined with no way to comeback after Bif and Derby appeared but who would have thought that Johnny Vincent would come to her rescue… then offer to take her out…? A walk in the carnival counted in her books.

Johnny quickly returned and put her bike away before jumping into the driver's seat. Despite his friendly gesture earlier he was quiet for most of the drive and the only reason Natasha can think of was what happened earlier, especially when Lola was mentioned; it was smart on Derby part to exploit the one weakness Johnny had, it was common knowledge that Lola was the one sure thing that could agitate Johnny but not many were brave (or fool) enough to face him angry.

The drive was not long and the sun was just beginning to set as Johnny pulled up outside the gates. They parked and headed towards the ticket box where they each paid for their own tickets, Johnny had offered to pay for them both but Natasha would not allow it knowing that he has had to work hard for what money he has to spend.

The carnival was as boisterous and magical as she remembered, she has only been three times, once with her family when she was very little, the second was a date with Ted and the last time was with her brothers just a few days before the accident. She could not help but smile when she remembered her brothers' determination to win her a prize but ending up with only enough tickets to claim an oversized worn out shirt. They were gutted they had to find out they were terrible at carnival games through such means and she ended up having to wear the thing but it was still an incident that made her laugh every time she thought back to it.

"What are you grinning about?" Johnny broke their silence and she snapped her head around, eyes still practically sparkling and lips in a wide grin. "Well?"

"I was just thinking about the last time I was here."

"Oh, who were you with?" he sounded off somehow, he must have been anticipating her answer to be Ted because his composure noticeably changed when she said it was her brothers. He stuck his hands into his pockets and stopped leading her to stop before him and wait. "… I asked the boys about you… I'm sorry about your parents, I didn't know they died."

"Oh… that's-," Natasha glanced away for a moment before meeting his eyes again. "Yeah, thanks."

"And Matt, he was an alright fella. Hope he's doing okay."

"Oh, he's still recovering," she gave him a tight smile. "He's hospitalised and being treated in Liberty City where my aunt lives at the moment."

She hated lying, especially to a friend which is what she considered Johnny to be now, but she had to for Matt's sake; at least that was what she was told by everyone surrounding her. Her aunt, the lawyers, her family, the orderlies, even Ben has said that the best way to protect Matt is to keep the ruse.

"Well I'm sure he'll be better in no time," Johnny gave her a reassuring pat on the back. "So what happened when you last came with them?"

"Oh, right. Um… we were here for my birthday, they thought it was a good idea to win my present and I kinda ended up with an old souvenir shirt a few sizes too big for me."

Johnny laughed and bemused the idea of the twin star football players being terrible at any physical activities. It's the first time she's seen him genuinely laugh about something related to school or more specifically another clique, she just assumed that being the leader of his own gang meant he disliked everyone else but he had surprised her when he said he thought Matt was decent and he spoke rather nicely about her brothers in general as well. "You'd think they can get you something better than a baggy shirt."

"Well apparently it's a lot harder than it looks," she shrugged back. "Even Ted couldn't win me anything when we were here."

"Haven't we already made it clear that Thompson is an idiot?" Johnny gave her a smile that resembled the one he gave her when he first asked her to get into his car. "Well shall we go win you something nice then? As a man I feel a certain obligation for you to finally get something nice from the carnival."

"No, you don't have to do that."

"Like I said, something inside of me is telling me to do it," he grinned. "To show you just how much better a greaser is."

"Oh Johnny please."

.

 **.**

.

Wow, who knew Johnny Vincent could throw a good pitch?

In little to no time Johnny had raked up dozens of tickets and went to claim a prize from the tent. Natasha waited outside half excited and half embarrassed over the fact that she actually had a lovely time with Johnny and he had been so sweet with her the entire time. Despite her complaints he paid for all the games and in the end he let her buy them a cotton candy to share because she had felt he was spending his money for her, even then he had barely eaten any himself.

Natasha watched in awe as Johnny stepped out of the prize tent carrying a large stuffed bear, its sheer size made it so that Johnny had to carry it on his back and when he got close he hurled it over his shoulders and passed it to her. Natasha nearly stumbled back as it landed in her arms and she did her best to grip the bear around its neck and held it up.

"Oh geez, I really don't see myself carrying this back to my dorm."

"Hey, I worked hard for him," Johnny poked the bear's nose with a self-satisfied smile. "So you gotta take good care of him, kay?"

"Right, of course I will," Natasha nodded as she held back a laugh from how he had referred the bear. "So what should we do now?"

"Some rides maybe?"

"What? With Mr. Snuggles with us?" she made a show of patting the bear's head. "I don't think he'd fit on any of the rides."

"Mr. Snuggles?" Johnny repeated, his voice laced with distaste. "That's terrible, that's not what we're naming him."

"We?" she laughed. "I thought this bear was for me."

"I reckon I'm entitled to some naming rights since I got him for you."

"What do you suggest then?"

"… Maybe Fred?"

"How about… maybe… no?" she shook her head. "If you wanna go on some rides how about you take Mr. Snuggles to your car first?"

"Fine then," he lifted the bear out of her hands with ease. "Let's go then, _Fred_."

Who would have guessed that her day would have ended up with Johnny Vincent rescuing her from Bif Taylor and Derby Harrington, then for them to head to the carnival where he would get her a stuffed bear and then proceeding to them arguing about the name of the bear. Johnny really was a lot more different than she thought he would be, for one he seemed to just go where the wind took him and he had no problems saying what was on his mind – he seemed genuinely unselfish and agreeable when he wasn't in one of his moods. She also liked the fact that he did not care for gossip or drama, a deeper part of her felt rather relieved when she found out that he hadn't known about her family's accident and she was able to be the one to confirm it to him the way she wanted to since he made no assumptions before he spoke to her. He was just an honest if not slightly bold person.

Johnny returned not long after and the pair ventured deeper into the carnival where they went on the Big Squid once and twice on the rollercoaster. Although Johnny was better at the games than the jocks were, he was not even half as tolerant with the rides. After they stepped off the rollercoaster Johnny insisted on going on the ferris wheel instead of going on again.

"Doing alright there, Johnny?" Natasha asked once they have taken their seat on the ride. "Looking a little pale there. Hope the ferris wheel isn't too much for you."

"Oh, shut up," he elbowed her lightly with a hint of a smile. "You're a crazy broad, you know. I've never met one that liked going on those kinds of crazy rides back to back like that."

"Well, what can I say?" she shrugged with a laugh. "I like going fast, the thrill of it just exciting, isn't it?"

"Oh, I'm not sure about the rides but I know about the excitement of going fast."

"… Johnny Vincent, did you just…?"

"It was your fault for saying it," he chuckled as he leaned his head back and stared up into the sky. "… This is nice. I can't remember the last time I just sat back and looked at the stars."

"Yeah, it's my first time on a ferris wheel and it's not so bad."

"What? Afraid it'll be too slow for you?"

"Oh, shut up! stop teasing me."

.

 **.**

.

In the end Natasha and Johnny ended up staying on the ferris wheel for another three times and was going for a fourth go when the operator asked them to leave as he informed them the carnival was now closing. The two had looked at each other and laughed, neither of them had realised how late it had gotten but it did not seem to particularly bother them either. They were one of the last people to leave the carnival and they were smiling and laughing the entire time they were walking through the now dimmed stalls and rides.

They easily found Johnny's car and she grinned at the sight of Mr. Snuggles strapped in on the backseat.

"This has been… surprisingly fun," she said when she got into her seat and strapped herself in. "… Right?"

"It has," he nodded in agreement, a smile appearing on his face as he turned on the ignition. "You're not bad company, Evans."

"And you're not so terrible either, Vincent."

The pair became quiet as they drove out of the tunnel and onto the main road by the coast. Natasha took a deep breath as she leaned onto the side, with the cool breeze in her hair and her soft gaze focused on the rippling waves illuminated under the moonlight she wanted nothing more than for this very moment to last.

The car eventually came to a halt right outside the academy gate. Natasha climbed out and went to unstrap the bear while Johnny went to retrieve her bike and helped her lock it into its place on the rack, all the while he was doing so Natasha watched him as she hugged the bear close to her neck digging her nose into the toy to hide her face. Johnny did not notice until he was back and trying to meet her face.

"Hey now, what's wrong doll?"

"Nothing…" she averted her gaze. "I'm just smiling a lot and I don't want you to see."

Something stirred inside of Johnny as he felt a strange sensation growing. Again the feeling was one he has not felt in a long time and it was one that was usually reserved for his whore of an ex. The feeling was definitely there… and it could be bad.

"I reckon you're looking pretty cute behind that ol' bear," he said without thinking. Damn, it was worse than bad. It could be dangerous. "Let's see."

"No," he could practically hear the smile in her voice as she stepped back from him and hugged the bear tighter. "I should go now… thanks for everything, Johnny."

"Yeah, alright," he shoved his hands into his pockets as he watched her go, he was about to turn and leave himself when he remembered something and called out to her. She turned around immediately, the bear was now lowered and he could clearly see the surprised look on her face. One of her eyebrows were perked up and her blue eyes seemed to sparkle as she waited for him to continue. "If Taylor or Harrington ever give you trouble again you tell me, alright doll?"

"… Why?" a playful smile appeared on her lips. "Will you beat them up for me?"

"Yes."

Natasha chuckled when she realised he was dead serious and she nodded back sheepishly. "I will, thanks Johnny."

 **.**

.

* * *

.

 **.**

Thank you _Skywalker_ for your review,

glad you're enjoying it:)

 **.**

.


	3. three

.

 **.**

 **Look Alive, Sunshine**

 _ **three**_

 **.**

.

* * *

.

 **.**

.

The next morning brought a wave of discomfort as soon as Natasha woke up, it was taking every bit of her willpower just to open her eyes and she wasn't sure how she was going to make it through the shower and get herself dressed for class. It had been past midnight by the time she got back last night, she fell right asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow but for some odd reasons even with six hours of sleep she was still exhausted. Natasha groaned as she flipped around under the blanket and she hit something soft face first, she opened her eyes and briefly smiled when she found Mr. Snuggles watching over her. She began to wonder what he was up to and if he was heading to class this morning. The first period was art… which she had good reason to believe that Johnny wasn't coming in, and it was beginning to grow tempting for her to sit it out this one time today. After all it wasn't as if art was an important part of the curriculum and to be perfectly frank she was terrible at it, she could just use this precious time to do something else… such as sleeping in.

That was until she heard Mrs. Peabody coming down the hall making her morning rounds, banging on the doors and checking that all the girls were up and on their way. Natasha hurriedly climbed out of bed and headed out the door into the showers after grabbing a change of clothes and her toiletries. She just managed to evade Mrs. Peabody and missed her wrath but as she entered the washroom she ran into Mandy who had been on her way out. Mandy did not so much as spare her a glance and shoved past Natasha making her drop her bag, the redhead closed her eyes and took a deep breath in attempt to calm herself down and after a few seconds she reopened her eyes and swiped her bag off the floor.

Natasha tried not to take too long in the shower but the hot water was lulling her and she got out of the shower feeling refreshed but in the opposite manner a morning shower should make you feel, she just felt ready to fall straight back into bed but there was not a chance with Mrs. Peabody watching her from across the hall beadily. So Natasha put her things away, grabbed her back and headed out.

The thought of art class was troubling her again and this time she knew for sure that she would just rather find someplace quiet to pass the period… somewhere such as under the bleachers where she could nap. Sleep definitely had more priority in her books right now so she made a turn and headed towards the football pitch instead, if she were able to sneak past the gym undetected then she should not have any more trouble since the prefects on patrol don't usually go as far out to the pitch. Luckily for her she managed to slip past Seth Kobe while he was chasing after a tardy student in the other direction. It was still early so the pitch was relatively empty apart from the gym class out running laps for Mr. Burton, though the teacher himself was nowhere in sight; no doubt off reading an inappropriate magazine in his office. Ben and Matt had warned her to steer clear away from their football coach back when they first made the team and Natasha has since always heeded her brothers' words.

Natasha walked down the familiar steps leading down to the pitch. It was a strange yet nostalgic feeling thinking that it was only two months ago that she walked down these very same steps in her bright cheerleading outfit and with Ted's fingers entwined with hers. It was odd how drastically things could change within a mere few weeks.

Stepping completely around the bleachers she found a spot to duck under and she crawled in, leaning her back on the frame she settled herself down and it did not take long for her to fall asleep.

.

 **.**

.

"Mr. Vincent, this is certainly a pleasant surprise."

Johnny hardly gave Ms. Philips a proper response as he stepped around her and found himself a seat near the back of the room, as he moved in he got a good look around class and he frowned when he came to realise that Natasha was not present. Ms. Philips proceeded to instruct the class of their assignment and they were sent to do their work. Johnny did not even bother and he just sat back just waiting for time to pass, after all he had only shown up hoping to see Natasha, there goes that idea but now that she was not here he really had no reason to stay other than he did not want to get in trouble for running out of class.

Last night like every other evening Johnny found himself unable to sleep. For the whole night he had someone on his mind but instead of the brunette he thought about so often for many nights before, last night he had a certain redhead in mind. A certain redhead that should be in class with him right now.

Even if she weren't here perhaps it was a good thing he showed up anyway. Johnny sighed as he reluctantly picked up a paintbrush. Maybe this could be the start of his grades improving.

' _Yeah right, by showing up to art,'_ Johnny tossed the paintbrush back aside with a roll of his eyes at the thought.

.

 **.**

.

The lunch bell woke Natasha up and the first thing she noticed was the field was noticeably louder than before which meant that the football team were out doing their extra drills in preparation for homecoming. Natasha picked up her bag and emerged from her hiding spot, she glanced over the pitch and sure enough she saw Ben down running lengths for warmup. She tried to draw as little attention to herself as she made her way across the field and up a couple of stairs where she found a quiet corner to sit herself down.

Since Natasha quit the squad she has been dividing her time between the dorm and the bleachers since she has always liked watching the boys practice but nowadays those moments tend to be short-lived with Mandy making it clear that she was no longer welcome even just to watch or read in a corner. Though back then there would be another person running down there and every now and then Ted would look up and smile at her.

Natasha shook the thought out of her head. If she started to think like that then she was just going to upset herself again. What she had back then… was all in the past now and there was no point in dwelling in it.

"Thought I might catch you here."

Johnny's voice called from behind and she glanced over her shoulder and smiled when she saw him heading down towards her. She greeted him as he sat beside her.

"So the only time I come to class you decide to ditch, huh?"

"You actually went to art?" she scoffed. "I mean, I am proud of you and everything but _art_? Really?"

"Yeah well I reckoned I'd catch you there but you were too busy…?"

"Sleeping actually," she ran a hand through her red locks. "I woke up exhausted and I just knew I wasn't going to make it to class."

"… Then you up for skipping maths?"

"And… do what?" she glanced to him, peering at him under her long lashes. He did not reply for a few moments and Natasha nudged him. "Well?"

"We could hang at the tenements."

"… Isn't that where your friends hang out?"

"Yeah, so?"

"Do you know how intimidating those guys are?" she groaned lightly. "I once walked into Ricky and almost fell back on my butt, all I could do was mumble a sorry before running away."

"What, really?" he retorted. "That guy?"

"Yeah, I get the feeling he doesn't like me very much."

"Uh, well that could be the case but then again he's pretty mopey these days," Johnny shrugged as he got up. "So you coming or not, doll?"

"… You know what, yeah sure," she grabbed her things and hopped up. "Lunch first though."

"Don't tell me you fancy Edna's food."

"No, let's grab something on the way. Your pick."

"Now we're talking."

.

 **.**

.

"Hey Evans."

While the coach was not looking Ben loosened his pace to allow Casey to catch up to him, he glanced to the blond who lifted his chin in the direction of the bleachers. "See that? Isn't that your sister with Johnny Vincent? They going out now?"

Ben snapped his attention up and just as Casey had said Natasha and Johnny were chatting while making their way up to the bleachers. Of course he has heard the absurd rumours going around, the terrible ones about Happy Volts which he already knew were a load of crap but he has also heard the Johnny Vincent ones… and those he wasn't so sure about. His thoughts briefly flashed to yesterday afternoon where he saw them walk out of school together and although they did not spend time after that… it was the way she looked at him… and he at her.

This was getting all too strange. After the accident, Natasha had quit the squad and detached herself from everyone close to her, her best friend, her boyfriend and even him. So why was she starting to warm up to Johnny Vincent of all people? What could possibly be going on between them?

"Oi, Ben, you listening?"

"Natasha can do what she likes," Ben replied although he was not sure if he meant what he was saying. "Even if she's with a greaser it's none of my business."

"Oh, well if she is that's kinda shit," Casey sighed. "I always thought she was hot."

Ben shot him a stern glare and Casey shut his mouth immediately. Ben may have managed to play it cool this time but he seriously needed to speak to his sister to gain a peace of mind, he needed to address the rumours, Johnny and of course about their brother.

.

 **.**

.

"… So this is where you boys hang out?"

"That's right."

They had just had a brief lunch at a nearby diner and she had been excited to see the infamous tenements the greasers have claimed for themselves but she was frankly underwhelmed. Natasha eyed the worn out building warily as Johnny opened the door for her, she gave Johnny a look before taking an uncertain step in. The floorboards creaked as she cautiously followed Johnny inside and ahead she could see holes in the wooden floor.

"Is it actually safe to be here?"

"Well… probably not," he admitted with a quiet chuckle. "But that's part of what makes it so great."

"I can never understand that guy logic," she sighed. "I mean I grew up with two older brothers and I should have gotten used to their obsession with danger, rebelling and all that excitement but I just don't get it."

"Well, stick around doll and I'll show you plenty of excitement," he smirked at her causing her cheeks to grow hot and she hoped he would not notice. "Now come on up, it's not much longer."

It was obvious that the dynamic between the pair have changed significantly since the incident at the beach and their unplanned not-so-date at the carnival. The change is so subtle that an outsider would not notice the distinction but she certainly did, the teasing and flirting was different from what it used to feel like; back when he was Johnny the greaser leader and her the head cheerleader their little interactions had little meaning and their words carried no weight but this was now not the case.

Johnny stopped abruptly and Natasha walked straight into him.

"Wha-," she groaned as she rubbed her nose.

"Quiet," he whispered.

" _I already told you… he's at school."_

" _Johnny? At school? Please, I dated him? Johnny does not go to school. If you were going to lie you could have come up with a better one."_

" _No, I'm serious Lola. Now you gotta leave."_

" _Hear that? That's him coming up the stairs! And you told me he wasn't in."_

" _Well now that he's back he wouldn't wanna see you anyway."_

" _Don't be ridiculous, Pucino. My Johnny loves me, he's always happy to see me!"_

Johnny pushed Natasha behind his much larger frame as someone approached the staircase and that someone was none other than Lola Lombardi. Natasha felt herself heat up at her close proximity to Johnny… but also at Lola's crude self-proclaimed remarks.

"Oh, Johnny," she cooed as she tapped him on the chest. "I've missed you so much. There's no other-."

"Get outta here, Lola," Johnny hissed, swatting her hand away. "Ricky's goddamn right, I don't wanna see you."

"Oh? What's the matter?" Lola smirked. "Haven't you missed me too, Johnny baby?"

"I won't ask you again," Johnny eyed her coldly. "Go now."

Realising that she was not having her way and Johnny was not budging, Lola decided to have a graceful retreat instead and scoffed a 'your loss' before leaving. As she walked by Johnny turned around so to keep Natasha still hidden behind him. Eventually the sound of Lola's heels grew faint and Johnny let out a sigh.

"… I can't believe you actually went out with her," Natasha patted her uniform down, straightening out her skirt that had deflated slightly. "And thanks for almost breaking my nose back there."

"Just be glad she didn't see you," Johnny rubbed his forehead. "She'd freak out and probably have a go at you-."

" _One more thing!"_

The staircase began to creak again as the familiar clicking returned. Panicked, Johnny and Natasha exchanged looked but before they could do anything Lola emerged from the shadows.

"If you see my skirt somewhere in this dump, could you return-."

Lola's voice faded at the sight of the redhead, she looked perplexed for a moment before her red lips curved into an unfriendly smirk and she placed a hand on her hip. "Well, well, well, look who we have here. Natasha Evans, last I heard shouldn't you be locked up in Happy Volts? What are you doing here with _my_ man?"

"Look Lola, I'm not entirely sure what's going on with you…" Natasha remembered the time Johnny stood up for her with Bif and Derby so the least she could do was say something back to Lola. "But what I do know is that he's not interested in you anymore."

"And what?" Lola took a step towards Natasha. "You trying to say he's interested in you now?"

Natasha did not respond and simply looked at Johnny who looked like he wanted nothing more than to disappear. He licked his chapped lips and looked between the two girls.

"Well Johnny?!" Lola glared at him expectantly. "Do you?"

"Lola, leave," he eventually sighed back. "I don't want anything to do with you."

"Oh, so it is true," Lola gasped audibly as she shook her head. "You know Johnny, I expected better from you. She's an embarrassing downgrade."

"Well I reckon Natasha's a large improvement from the last whore," Ricky's voice appeared and he walked in with his arms crossed. "Are you done yet?"

"Because you idiots are the best judge of character," Lola spat back before turning around. "Whatever, I'm leaving."

Despite being taken down a hunch Lola took her time down the stairs, savouring each step knowing that the lot upstairs were anxious for her gone. After the brunette finally left, Ricky unfolded his arms and sighed.

"I already told her she had no business here," Ricky shook his head. "… She's a serious piece of work."

"Yeah, some people just can't take a hint, huh?" Natasha said knowingly as she glanced to Johnny before turning to face Ricky.

"I'm Ricky, by the way."

"I know," she half-smiled. "I'm Natasha."

"Yeah, I know," he smiled back.

"Where's everyone else?" Johnny asked when he realised how unusually quiet the upper level was. "Shop?"

"Yeah, Lefty's just finishing the adjustments on his bike so most of them are down there," Ricky adjusted his jacket. "I was actually on my way out when Lola showed up."

"Oh, well then go ahead," Johnny tilted his head towards the stairs. "We're good."

"Alright then," Ricky gave Johnny a smile before turning to Natasha "Nice meetin' ya."

"You too."

Ricky gave her a kind smile before heading his way leaving Natasha and Johnny completely alone in the tenements. It was strangely quiet between the pair and Johnny gave Natasha an unreadable look before prompting her to follow him inside, the room upstairs were surprisingly better kept than the rest of the building and there appeared to be a small functioning kitchen and even a small television set. It was obvious this was where the boys usually hung out, there were piles of empty pizza boxes and cigarettes butts littered the floors. It was not really her kind of place but for whatever reason it felt homey – lived in.

"Beer?" Johnny called to her as he examined the contents of the fridge. Natasha peeked into the fridge and she should have known that it was just filled with beer bottles and a tub of ice-cream. "Not your thing?"

"Not in the middle of the day, no," she shook her head. "… I don't really drink much to begin with."

"Ah, well that's fair enough," he shrugged as he pulled one out for himself. He walked around and opened a cupboard where there was a stash of water bottles, he grabbed one and passed it to her. "Here, I got an idea. Come with me."

Natasha watched him head to a cracked window sceptically but followed anyway. She paused when he climbed out and he helped her out onto the fire escape where he directed her up the stairs leading to the roof. Not entirely sure if this was such a great idea, Natasha gave Johnny a glance before taking the first step up the metal steps. The steps creaked under her weight and she would have felt more panicked if Johnny did not immediately start following after her, his boots taking even louder heavier steps behind her.

Once reaching the top she understood why they had gone through the trouble to get there. It was a much better choice than the kitchen which was not only messy but slightly stuffy, there was a slightly torn up sofa and a coffee table set up to overlook New Coventry. The streets may have been dirty and poorly kept but the view from the top was not half bad.

"This isn't bad at all," Natasha murmured as she pulled her cardigan off and placed it on the backrest. She basked in the warmth from the sun, enjoying the tingling sensation left on her skin. "I can see why you'd rather be here than class."

"If only all could see it, huh?" Johnny said as he watched her step around the sofa, her fingers running along the stained material before she stopped in front of it. "… The decent company helps."

"… Yeah, I can imagine," she offered him a smile as she sat down. "… The feeling's mutual. It's been a while since I could just… speak to someone without worries about judgement or prying…"

"… I hate to ask when you just mentioned it but could I ask you something?"

"… What about?" she glanced around and saw as Johnny just pulled his leather jacket off, he pulled his Bullworth sweater sleeves up and folded the white button up underneath. She didn't mean to stare but there was a reason why practically all the cheerleaders had carried a secret torch for Johnny Vincent at some point. "…"

"It's uh… about the thing with Happy Volts."

"Oh," well that threw her off. "… Do you believe it?"

"Well I mean I've only heard what my boys have been saying," he turned to look at her as he leaned back on the sofa, he stretched his arm around placing them on the headrest landing just above Natasha's shoulders. She remained perfectly still as his dark brown eyes bored into her blue ones before he spoke again. "I don't really know what to think… I don't wanna get in your business or anything… but thing is since I got locked up there … well you know. I was just curious if you were there."

"… Were you actually locked up there? I mean I only heard rumours… as well," Natasha's words ceased when she saw Johnny smiling and she realised how silly they sounded. Both of them questioning each other over others and speculations when it would be so easy to just simply share. "Yeah, I was there. Just visiting though."

"Ah well, I was there too. Was locked up though."

"I see," she laughed as he took a swig from his bottle. "It must have been scary, I can't imagine."

"Yeah, it was scary as hell," Johnny shook his head. "And if it weren't for Hopkins I'd probably still be in there."

"I didn't realise you two were friends."

"We're not," he gave her a look. "Are you?"

"Never spoken to the guy," she looked away. "Seemed a bit like a pervert."

"Well you are you," Johnny chuckled.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well you're a nice looking girl," he waved the bottle in his free hand towards her face then to her figure. "You have to know you… incite something in most guys."

"… Does 'most guys' include you?" she raised an eyebrow. "… Johnny?"

"Well…" he looked her in the eye again and she felt his hand on the headrest slip down around her shoulder, his fingers playing with her red curls. Natasha subconsciously held her breath. "I'm not sure what that 'something' is but I won't deny it's there."

"… And…?"

"What do you reckon?" he leaned his immaculate face closer towards hers and she felt herself growing hot as his lips hovered over hers. "Should we give _us_ a go?"

"… I'm not sure if 'us' is such a good idea," she whispered. "We're from two different worlds… and we've only just started speaking to each other and-."

Before she could say another word Johnny had pushed his lips against hers, his arms circling around her completely to pull her into a kiss. Natasha gasped into the kiss but after getting over the initial shock she found herself leaning into him and tilting her head slightly to meet him better. A hand strayed towards his face and she gently held his jaw as their kiss deepened, a deep groan erupted from him and she felt him pull her onto his lap so that she straddled him. It was not for another few seconds before they pulled away, Natasha breathed heavily as she rested her forehead against his and she sighed blissfully when Johnny circled his arms around her waist.

"This _is_ a bad idea," she panted. " _We_ are a terrible idea."

"And what exactly did you think I meant when I said 'us'?"

"I-… I don't know- w-what's that supposed to mean-."

"Aw, don't look so serious Natasha," he chuckled back brightly, one of his arms coming around so that he could pat her head. "I was only teasing you, doll… I am serious."

"… I'm not sure," she made an attempt to climb off his lap but he kept her there. "Johnny-."

"Does this… feel wrong to you?"

"Well no but-."

"Then don't fight it and just enjoy it," he grinned up at her, his hold on her loosening as he leaned back against the headrest. "There's no rush."

Trying to push aside the fact that she was on Johnny Vincent's lap on a rooftop in broad daylight, Natasha considered his words and she knew that he was right; there was no doubt in her mind that she enjoyed spending time with Johnny, even before this sudden turn of events she had already began to wonder about her feelings and this only cemented it. She definitely had feelings for him.

"I- um-."

"What's wrong?" he glanced up at her, one of his hands coming up to touch her face, his ringed index finger sliding down her cheek gently. "… If I overstepped any boundaries… I am sorr-."

"No, it's not that…" she could feel her cheeks growing furiously hot with every second under his dark smouldering eyes. She slowly climbed off his lap and this time he made no attempt to stop her, her reaction must have worried him and she could understand why since she was hardly able to look at his face… mostly due to embarrassment but he obviously thought different. "I guess I just never thought it was going to happen… this… us."

"You never considered it… ever?"

"Honestly no," she offered him a smile, hopefully he'll work out she was not truly upset. "Back then… it really just felt nice enough that we could get along the occasional time in class despite being who we were. Plus, at the time we both had our own… situation going on. Then after everything happened… well, let's just say it wasn't really the first thing on my mind to jump back into a relationship."

"Fair enough… I can understand that," his voice sounded distant as if he had thought back to it as well. He looked down as he rubbed the back of his neck slowly. "… I'm sorry I kissed you like that… I shouldn't have done it without uh- sorry. I wasn't thinking and if you think things are going too quickly or-."

Her laughter interrupted his rambling. "Stop saying sorry, it doesn't feel right hearing it from you. If you've overstepped my boundaries, trust me you'd be first to know."

"… Right, yeah," he looked back up at her. "Let's just-."

 _Clack!_

 _Thud-Thud-Thud_

A chain of noises erupted from the stairwell.

Johnny and Natasha both simultaneously looked over to the ledge where they found a group of boys peering over at them. It appeared Ricky had gone and informed everyone that Johnny had sent away Lola for another girl, this was tremendously exciting news for the boys and when Ricky mentioned it was Natasha they all bolted back to the tenements hoping to catch the glorious sight of their leader finally moving on to a much better girl.

"What are you boys doing?" Johnny demanded.

Ricky was first to bolt leaving behind Peanut, Lefty, Hal and Vance. Every second they stood there terrified, Johnny seemed to get angrier and it was obvious it would not be long before he lost his temper so Peanut took the initiative and yelled 'sorry Johnny!' before he ran off prompting the rest of the boys to do the same.

After they left Johnny remained silent for the longest time before Natasha burst out laughing. Johnny had not expected that reaction at all, the last time something similar happened his then girlfriend threw the largest fit until Johnny agreed to chase the boys down and make them apologise to her… definitely a drastic difference in reaction. A much preferred reaction.

"… You're lovely, you know that?"

"W-What?" Natasha must not have realised it herself but she gave him one of her sweetest and most bashful smiles. "You think I'm lovely?"

"One of a kind."

 **.**

.

* * *

.

 **.**

This story will very likely get a M rating later on

with the way my plans are going right now.

M for both sexual content and dark themes.

A big thank you to my readers :)

.

.

Again thanks _Skywalker_ for reviewing,

I already have a few chapters and am trying to update weekly.

Hopefully it sticks because I'm terrible at writing on a schedule!

.

.

Don't be shy leave me a review :)

 **.**

.


	4. four (flashback)

.

 **.**

 **Look Alive, Sunshine**

 _ **four**_

 _ **(flashback)**_

 **.**

.

* * *

.

 **.**

.

They have been standing at the stall for about twenty minutes already and Ted has still yet to give up. Natasha sighed as she watched Ted miss another target finally depleting all the balls he was given, he had already spent a good thirty dollars and he was pulling out another five-bill.

"Teddy, baby…" she clutched onto his arm and prevented him from handing the bill to Dorsey. "You don't have to win me anything. Let's just go."

"No, babe. I'm not going to let some shitty game beat me," Ted brushed her off before handing the bill over. "Just give me another minute."

 _'Boys…'_ Natasha rolled her eyes with a shake of her head as Ted was handed another basket of baseballs. He had completely forgotten that he said he would win her a stuffed bear.

 _Ping-Ping-Ping-Ping!_

There went another five dollars.

Ted groaned as he reached into his wallet once again.

"Okay, Ted, look at me," Natasha held his wrist and looked him in the eye. "That's enough, okay? We're going now."

"But-."

"No, baby, we're leaving."

"…Alright, fine."

Natasha smiled before pecking him on the cheek and his frown turned into a large grin as he put an arm around her shoulder. They headed back into the carnival oblivious to the two figures trailing over them, taking their spot at the baseball booth. The twins gave each other a similar look before handing Dorsey a fiver each.

.

 **.**

.

After leaving the carnival the pair stopped by the beach for a cheeky midnight swim. With their clothes discarded on shore the two splashed about under the moonlight in their underwear. Natasha squealed when Ted caught her from behind, picked her up and carried her over his shoulder as he stepped deeper into the water. Ignoring her protests, he threw her into the water with a roar of laughter. Natasha eventually emerged from the water, wiping the water away from her eyes and her ponytail a mess.

"That is not funny, Ted!" she groaned as she pulled the elastic out of her hair and pushed the wet strands of hair out of her face, internally lamenting her straightened hair would inevitably go curly again now. Ted swam up to her, trying to supress another laugh before she glared at him. "Go away."

"Oh, I'm sorry babe," he gave her one of those Ted Thompson grins that all the girls would go nuts over. He held her arms and slowly pulled her towards him. "You know I was just playing around."

He leaned down to kiss her. At first Natasha tried to refuse and struggled against his arms but he saw through her easily and his smile widened when their lips were inches apart, she gave in eventually and smiled into their brief kiss before she giggled as he pulled away. "I'm still mad at you."

"Are you now?" he tried to kiss her again but she ducked away and managed to get away as she swam back to shore. "You won't get away from me!"

Natasha laughed as she ran up the beach. Once reaching their pile of clothes she grabbed Ted's jersey first which she quickly pulled on, his jersey was large enough that it came down to her mid-thighs just covering her bum and it was a much better alternative than soaking her tight cheer outfit.

"Aw no, babe," Ted moaned when he got to her. "What am I gonna wear?"

"I don't see anything wrong with what you have on," she gave him a mischievous smile as her eyes darted down to his boxers. "A great sight, actually."

"I can say the same for you," he was definitely enjoying the sight of his stunning girlfriend wearing his jersey. "But I am going to need that back, babe."

"Come get it then," she giggled before running off.

Of course it didn't take much for Ted to catch up to her but when he did, instead of immediately confronting her about the jersey he pulled her into a back-hug. He brushed her wet locks out of the way and nestled his face in her neck sending goose-bumps running down her body when he breathed.

"It's your birthday next week," he hummed softly sending another shiver down her spine. She was actually surprised he remembered at all. "… Anything you want in particular?"

"You naked in my bed?"

"That can be arranged," she could hear the grin in his voice again. "And what would we be doing in bed?"

"Well why don't you give it a guess? Hint: I'll be naked too."

"Oh, I think I've got a pretty good idea."

"I bet you do."

Natasha took the opportunity when he was off-guard and spun around to meet his face, she wrapped her arms around his waist as she looked him in those beautiful azure eyes of his. Ted truly was gorgeous. Sometimes dating him could be a pain when almost all the female students at Bullworth had eyes for him… and it did not help that he would be friendly with any girl he found attractive enough.

"Teddy-bear… I love you."

"… And I love you, babe," he leaned down to kiss her again. "Mm… let's go back, you're getting your present early."

"Oh no, not tonight," she shook her head with a giggle. "My room is not free and I'd rather not be caught by my brothers. It's going to have to wait until we're at my home."

"… I… I'm not sure about this dinner," he sounded uncertain. This surprised Natasha as it was the first she's ever heard him speak of it. "I know it's for your birthday… but…"

"My parents want to meet you."

"They already know me. I've met them plenty of times."

"… They want to meet you as my boyfriend," she rubbed his cheek gently. "It won't be so bad, I promise."

"That's what you said about the chem test."

"It really wasn't that bad, you just didn't study!"

Ted made a face before he pecked her again.

"Alright, fine but give me my shirt back."

.

 **.**

.

It was unbelievable that just after being to the carnival with Ted last week her brothers decided it would be a great idea to take her again. Sure she liked it and had a great time she was last here but she would have preferred a larger gap between her visits otherwise it just took the magic away.

"Guys, I appreciate you two doing this for my birthday and all but Ted already brought me here last week."

"Sssh," Ben hushed her as he exchanged a look with Matt, both twins were on either side of Natasha tugging her towards the stalls. They had planned to win her a prize when Ted was not able to, in a sense it was more a boys' competitive spirit than it was putting their sister's birthday present first. Though they still wanted to keep it a surprise for her then gloat to Ted after. "We know so just leave it to us-."

"What he means, is that we're going to show you a much better time than him," Matt smiled convincingly. He's always had a warmer smile that made Natasha feel more at ease, and if she had to pick arguably she was closer to Matt. "Don't forget about your brothers just because you got a boyfriend."

"Yeah, Nat, you'll hurt our feelings," Ben chuckled before noticing his twin giving him a quick look, probably because he almost gave away their plan. "A-Anyway, shall we go?"

"… You know what, fine," Natasha sighed when she noticed her brothers staring at each other. It was likely they were having one of those silent conversations she could only hope to decipher. "Let's just have some fun then."

The boys exchanged looks again as they were dragged inside: ' _Thank god we're not related to Pinky.'_

.

 **.**

.

The whole of Sunday was spent with the girls in town celebrating Natasha's birthday, it was only by the late afternoon that they returned to the dorm where Natasha crashed into bed right away. She was completely exhausted and it did not take long for her to begin dozing off under the comfort of her bed. If it weren't for Mandy yelling at her, reminding her of the family dinner and forcing her out of bed for a shower she probably could have just slept rest of the day away but Mandy was right. Tonight was going to be an important night. It's been weeks since she last saw her parents and she was excited to formally introduce Ted to them as her boyfriend and not just as the twins' friend from the football team.

Natasha rolled out of bed wordlessly and scampered out of the room without even grabbing anything knowing there will be towels in the showers and that will be enough.

Mandy shook her head with a sigh before turning to her bags of shopping and emptying out a small bag of new nail varnishes onto her bed. She looked through the numerous bottles and decided on a blue one, she shook the bottle well and began to paint her toes. Just as she finished the first toe a knock came from the door, she immediately fastened the bottle and hurried to the door hoping it would be either one of the twins here to pick Natasha up, or if she was lucky it would be both of them. She swung the door open and her smile immediately dropped.

"Oh, it's you…" she gave Bif Taylor a tight-lipped smile. "What do you want?"

"Is Natasha in?" the prep peeked into the room. "… I was told she's in."

"Nat's in the shower, she's going to her parents tonight," Mandy tapped the doorframe disinterestedly until she noticed a small package in his hand. "… Is that for her?"

"Oh, yeah," Mandy reached for it and just as her fingers were about to touch it Bif pulled it out of her reach. "I don't think so, Wiles."

"At least tell me what it is," she asked, incredibly curious of whatever expensive gift Bif Taylor has coughed up for Natasha this year. "Come on."

"Wouldn't you like to know," he gave her an unfriendly look before stepping inside, looking between the two beds he chose to sit on the one not covered by bottles of nail varnish. "I guess I will wait."

"Uh… I think you should just drop it off and go," Mandy suggested. "Nat's gonna be back soon and she won't be happy to see you."

"Good, I won't have to wait long," he placed the gift down beside him with a smile. "Yeah well, these days she's never happy to see me not that it bothers me."

"No, you don't understand," she gritted her teeth. "Natasha doesn't have her clothes with her."

"Even better."

"Argh, get out you pig!" she cried out. "She's going to be pissed when she gets-."

The door creaked open and Natasha walked with a towel wrapped around her body, she had been saying something on her way in but her train of thought crashed when she found Bif Taylor sitting on her bed. "…"

"Nat, I tried getting him to leave," Mandy sighed, propping a hand on her hip. "Sorry."

"Bif…" Natasha said hoarsely. "Get. The. Fuck. Out."

Mandy eyed him as he walked towards the door, as he walked by she haughtily mouthed: _'Told you so'_. Bif returned her gesture with the same hostility and rolled his eyes at her before leaving. It was only after he left did he realise he still had not done what he came to do, he rushed back inside and handed the box to Natasha. At this point Natasha just wanted Bif to leave and she clutched onto her towel tighter when she noticed his eyes straying from her face.

"Right, thanks," she took it from him with a curt smile. "Now could you please fuck off?"

Bif grinned at her haughtily, that cheeky Bif Taylor grin of his, before running out while calling 'happy birthday'.

After she has calmed down some, Natasha placed the box down on her dresser before she got changed. It was likely her mother was going to say something about it but she chose to wear the… interesting-looking yellow Old Bullworth polo shirt her brothers had won for her at the carnival. The shirt was a few sizes too big for her and hung loose all around but at least it was comfortable. She began packing her night bag oblivious to Mandy who had been staring holes at her.

"Say Nat?"

"Hm?"

"About the present…"

"What present?"

"The one from Bif."

"Oh, _that_ one."

"Yes, that one!" Mandy grumbled when she realised her friend was teasing her. "Shouldn't you open it to see what's in it? Knowing Bif, he could have bought you a diamond ring."

"Don't even joke about that," she sighed as she reached for the box, fearing that Mandy could very well be right and there was no knowing with Bif Taylor. Since for as long as she could remember he has always had some way of surprising her in ways that she would least expect. She unravelled the ribbon of the box where inside held another smaller box, a lavish mint-coloured box with the name of a high-end jewellers embellished on the side. "Shit."

The phrase 'don't be a ring' kept repeating on the back of her mind as she carefully lifted the box's cap off. Mandy leaned in with pure excitement written on her face as Natasha unboxed a suede pouch and she already let out a sigh of relief knowing that at least it was not a ring. Natasha felt more at ease as she pulled the drawstrings and peeked inside.

"What is it?" Mandy asked when Natasha did not move. "… Nat?"

All of a sudden Natasha burst out laughing as she handed the pouch to Mandy, as if she had completely lost interest she then headed back to continue packing her bag. Mandy stared after her friend, completely baffled by her reaction, and looked down into the pouch.

"… He got you earrings?" Mandy carefully picked out one of the studs. "Wow, I think these are real diamonds…"

"Yeah, looks like it," Natasha shook her head with a soft smile. "Don't get too attached, I'm returning them to him."

"What! But they're beautiful!" Mandy exclaimed. "You should keep them! Plus, they're from Bif anyway, he wouldn't have spent much of his money anyway!"

"That's not the point… pack them back… and please for the love of god, don't break them," Natasha chuckled as she sat down with Mandy and held her hand out to her, her friend gave her a disapproving look before handing the pouch holding the earrings back. "Also my ears aren't even pierced, he obviously didn't even think it through properly."

"Well… I mean, that's fair… whatever," Mandy scoffed. "Just so you know, if I had Bif Taylor wrapped around my little finger I'd get him to buy my all sorts of nice things… plus he's not too bad looking either."

"Oh please, like what kinds of things?"

"Hm… well," Mandy seemed to give it some actual thought. "Maybe not things, but he's probably got tons of connections right? I can use those connections to launch my modelling career then I can buy whatever I want myself."

"Right and live the good life, right?"

"Girl, you know it," Mandy beamed. "You know Nat, you should just date him for a bit… long enough for me to use those connections of his?"

"As great as that sounds…" Natasha tucked the box into her tote bag. "I am very happy in my current relationship."

"Oh, well yes… I guess Ted is very dreamy and all," she sounded sarcastic enough but it was still an odd thing to hear from her best friend. Mandy did not seem to notice her friend's reaction. "Well then, have a good time tonight. Tell me all about it, when you're back, okay?"

"Right yeah," Natasha smiled as she stood up. "Thanks for today."

"Any time," Mandy nodded as she watched Natasha head to the door. "And Nat?"

"Yeah?"

"Happy birthday."

.

 **.**

.

The ride back home felt longer than usual. Natasha parked her bike by the garage and attempted to get in the house through the garage door but strangely enough she found that it was locked. Giving the garage one last look she headed down the pathway towards the front door, she passed by the gate on her way and she briefly glanced over at the house opposite hers wondering if she would have a chance to return the earrings soon.

The Evans owned a sizeable property in Old Bullworth Vale, it was a decent sized mansion but obviously nowhere close to the sizes of the Harrington or Spencer mansions. Before moving to the academy dormitories living in the neighbourhood had been not without difficulties especially when the more influential families decided to host their soirées or afternoon tea parties. The only reason why her family did live in the neighbourhood was because her forefathers had owned the land before the houses were built and so when property prospectors had come knocking on great-great-great-grandpa Evans door and an incredible offer that could not be refused was made (a mansion and a large sum of money), the Evans family then became bound to live on the land.

Growing up on the Vale was the main reason why Bif and her were close, they were next door neighbours from when they were children right up until they started attending Bullworth Academy. Natasha along with her two brothers actually got on with Bif quite well when they were younger, well more so Natasha and Bif seeing as her brothers were always a little tough on boys and kids younger than they were. Despite this Bif always went looking for the Evans trio to play with when they were in their primary school years.

Everything changed when they reached middle school. For a reason he did not want to tell Natasha or the twins, Bif decided to join the boxing club; they had not really thought much of it when it happened but they had not factored in that the boxing club was where the rest of the rich kids from the Vale liked to hang out, the group of kids that soon grew to be the preppies clique, and it was not even in their wildest imaginations that Bif would join them. It was notably after making friends with the devil Harrington spawn that Bif began to behave differently, he grew rude and arrogant, flaunting his wealth and picking on kids from outside their neighbourhood. That did not stand well with her brothers at all, most of their friends were the sporty kids who lived in town after all and Bif's changed created a friction in their relationship.

It was her brothers who asked her not to be friends with him anymore but Natasha herself saw the change in Bif and knew that he was no longer someone she wanted to be around. Nowadays she just tried to avoid him at all costs… not that he's made it easy.

"Darling!" Serena Evans hugged her daughter as soon as she laid eyes on her, and after releasing her vice-like grip she held Natasha at a distance and examined her. "Have you grown taller? And… oh… what _are_ you wearing, darling?"

"The boys got it for me," Natasha shrugged. "It's my birthday present. It's… not the best looking shirt but I thought it would be nice to wear it at least once."

"But isn't Ted coming?"

"Yeah?" Natasha was confused how he had anything to do with the situation. "It's not like a big deal though-."

"Nonsense," Serena grabbed her daughter's shoulders and led her up the stairs. "We still have a little time if we hurry. We should be able to find something in your wardrobe."

"But mum, it's really alright. I don't see why-."

"What other reason does there have to be? It's your birthday, darling," Serena smiled as they entered Natasha's bedroom. "Plus, it's a mother's job to pamper her daughter. Plus, you need to look good in front of your boyfriend."

If there was one thing about having a young stylish mother it was not being able to get away with anything, it was like they knew you better than you knew yourself and there was no hiding even the smallest details; whatever you overlook or ignore they will catch on immediately. Now if her mother thought that getting changed would be a good idea then who was she say otherwise.

"Oh dear, let's see what we can find in here," Serena looked through the wardrobe, flicking through a number of dresses hung up, occasionally stopping at a dress before moving on. "But what were those sons of mine thinking getting you a shirt like that… and in such a god-awful shade as well. You'd think I raised them well enough to know…"

Serena eyed each dress she flicked through with disinterest until something finally caught her eye. She called Natasha over and had her look at her choice, and it was just like her mother to fix a problem. In Serena's hand was the blue strapless dress she wore to her aunt's wedding, although it was around two years ago Serena insisted that it would still fit. Natasha was not entirely convinced as she glanced down at her own figure but her mother left her no room for argument and asked her to be changed into it the next time she saw her, claiming that there were some things in the kitchen she had to check on.

Before rushing off Serena mentioned that her father should be returning soon with the boys, apparently they had spent the day around the Vale and downtown. That undoubtedly threw Natasha off and she was not sure she quite liked the idea of leaving Ted alone to fend for himself against her father and her brothers who probably made it difficult for him.

Natasha shook the thoughts away from her mind, she had other problems at hand and it was getting this damn dress to zip. She had some trouble around the waist area and she took a deep breath and held it as she zipped it up completely. Okay wow, just how much has her body grown in the last two years? The dress was almost painfully tight around her chest and she could not work out if she had trouble breathing, but looking into the mirror… she looked stunning and the dress did hug her curves in a way that was completely unlike the first time she wore it.

"How does it look, darling?"

Serena popped her head in and smiled. "Oh, you look absolutely gorgeous."

"Isn't it a little too tight?"

"Yeah well, it'll give Ted something to be happy about."

"Mum!" Natasha went red. "That's not funny!"

"Right, sorry," Serena nodded, not looking apologetic at all as she sat down at Natasha's dresser and fixed her hair. She picked up a brush and went through her large strawberry blonde curls.

"Mum, if you fluff it anymore you'd end up looking like you're wearing a wig."

"Just a little touch-up," Serena smiled as she looked at her daughter in the mirror's reflection. "Hm… I always wondered where you got your red hair from."

"You're asking me," Natasha sighed. "The twins got dad's hair and I'm the only one stuck with this hair…"

"I remember the twins used to make fun of you and the Taylor boy from next door," Serena smiled. "It was kind of a strange coincidence you two had the same hair colour."

"Speaking of Bif…" Natasha pulled the box out of her bag and placed it on the dresser table. "He got me something for my birthday."

"Well it's Tiffany's box," Serena stated right away before even picking it up, she always had an eye for these things and Natasha felt restless as she watched her mother unwrap the box. "… Oh wow, these are gorgeous."

"Yeah, well that's not the problem…" Natasha began but paused with a sigh when she realised her mother was hardly listening as she placed the earrings over her own pearls to see how it would look on her ears. "Mum!"

"Right, yes," Serena placed them back down. "Well it's hardly a surprise. The boy's had a crush on you since you were babies… and it's not like these would have cost him much."

"Mum, my ears aren't even pierced… and I was thinking of giving them back."

"Well, it's your choice darling," Serena placed the earrings back into its box before standing up. "There, it sounds like they're back now. Let's go downstairs."

Giving the box on the dresser one last look Natasha followed her mother downstairs. It was a funny feeling coming down the stairs and having your family watch you in awe but it was another thing to have your boyfriend standing with them looking more astounded than anything. Once reaching downstairs Cal Evans immediately pulled her little girl into a large hug and Natasha greeted him with the same vigour before greeting her brothers and lastly Ted.

As if on cue Serena dragged the rest of the men into the sitting room to give the couple a little privacy.

"Wow, you look amazing," Ted was still looking at her, at least his mouth stopped hanging open. He then smirked as he held her waist and pulled her closer, his eyes dropping down. "You know your boobs look twice as big in that dress?"

"Oh shut up," she playfully pushed him away and headed after her family. She looked over her shoulder and smiled as she beckoned for him to follow. "Thanks by the way. You look great."

The Evans family were distributed around the sitting room unassumingly, her father on his large armchair the twins lounged on the three-seater subtlety leaving the loveseat empty while Serena was in the kitchen. Natasha and Ted looked at each other before taking their seats, her on the side closer to her father and him closer to the twins, although she could tell Ted was slightly uneasy with the atmosphere he still held her hand under Cal's watchful eyes.

"Say Nat, I actually had a pleasant chat with Ted earlier," Cal spoke up, startling both Natasha and Ted. She glanced at Ted briefly before turning back to her father. "Ted's always seemed like a fine lad but I feel much better now knowing he'd take care of you."

"… Really?" Natasha couldn't help but sound surprised. In the two years they have known Ted, her father has never had anything remarkable to say about him, not even that he was a good football player or a nice kid, so it was really unusual to hear him suddenly have such high praise for Ted. She quietly looked at Ted again and forced a smile when their eyes met. "…"

"It's just a bit odd, I always thought you were going to end up with the Taylor boy from next door," Cal laughed heartily, unaware of the way Natasha and Ted grew tense. "You should watch out for him, Ted. The boy next door has had the largest crush on my little girl since they were kids. What was his name? Barry?

"Daddy…"

Natasha hushed but it was no use as the twins spoke up in unison.

"Ah that's right, Bif Taylor," Cal nodded.

"Bif?"

Oh god no.

Serena had just walked in and caught the last part of the conversation, she stood behind her husband's armchair and dived straight into the gossip. It was not like her mother to pass on some good gossip.

"Yeah, the boy from next door," Cal said.

"I know, Natasha and I were just talking about him earlier," Serena replied. "He bought her a pair of diamond earrings."

"You're joking," Ben frowned.

"No, they're just upstairs," Serena gushed, to be fair more excited about the beautiful earrings than the bearer of the gift and it was only when she caught sight of Natasha's glare did she realise her mistake. "… Well anyway, dinner is ready. Shall we head in?"

At last they have stopped talking. As her family moved in she looked to Ted and saw that his jaw was clenched and he looked far from thrilled, Ted does not have much of a temper but he did get defensive when it came to her. If Bif showed up dead in an alleyway somewhere in the next couple of days she would have a pretty good idea of who's responsible.

"How long have you and Bif Taylor been friends?" he asked quietly as they got up. "… Was there anything more?"

"No, of course not. I had planned to give the earrings back to him," she shook her head and spoke perhaps too quickly it sounded unnatural. "We were close in primary school because we grew up together but didn't mean anything more to me before and certainly not now."

"Well he doesn't know that," Ted frowned. "The guy bought you diamonds."

"… You know these rich kids, they don't think anything of these things…" Natasha held his arm with a smile. "Come on, we shouldn't keep them waiting."

.

 **.**

.

After the meal the family along with Ted were in the backyard where the teens were playing touch-football and the parents watched from the terrace. Natasha who had finally found an excuse to get out of the confining attire agreed to playing immediately, although she was banned from wearing the yellow polo again. Though not exactly fair, the star player twins were paired together against Ted and Natasha; Ted was a fair player and an even better quarterback but they did not stand a chance against Ben and Matt.

The fifth game ended in their bitter defeat again and Natasha was beginning to grow tired of this obvious disadvantage on their side, she was about to call for a team change when her father called for her instead. Apparently they decided it was time to unveil her birthday present and she felt nervous when they asked her to follow them around the house.

"And boys, today when Natasha showed up in that horrendously coloured shirt…" Serena spoke as she grabbed both her sons. "The last thing I expected was for her to say she got it from you two as a birthday present."

"Well you know, mum. Sometimes you just got to work with what you have," Matt laughed as he ducked out of Serena's hold. "Plus we all know who usually comes up with the ideas."

"Well the plan was to get something better than a shirt," Ben winced under his mother's sharp look. "It was all we could get with our tickets!"

"So asking for some money for your sister's present meant playing carnival games?" Serena narrowed her eyes on the boys. "Why-!"

"It's fine really, mum. I don't mind at all. We had fun anyway."

Serena had looked ready to give her sons a proper berating but held back for her daughter's sake. Anyways they had finally reached around the corner where parked on the garage driveway was a car. It was a white rover, one that was similar to the one her mother owned. At first Natasha was not sure what to think but as she took a few steps forward she noticed there was a card clipped on the windshield wiper addressed to her. She took the card and smiled as she read her father's handwriting.

"What do you think?"

"Oh, I love it," Natasha hugged her parents. "Thank you, thank you!"

"The boys helped me pick it out."

"Thanks guys, this is amazing," she moved to hug her brothers next, then she stopped in front of Ted and pecked him lightly. "Thanks."

"But don't go test driving it yet, alright?" Cal patted the car's hood. "We've still got to get the safety checked. Something we overlooked today, we were in such a rush to get it back on time."

"Oh, you shouldn't have worried about it, daddy," she hugged her father again. "I'm just happy you're able to come back for my birthday."

"Think nothing of it, dear," he kissed her forehead before letting go and taking his wife by the hand. "Alright then, your mother and I are going to retire for the evening. Will you kids be alright?"

"Yes, of course!"

The teens said their goodnights before Cal and Serena headed back into the house through the garage. The boys decided they would play some more football but Natasha was feeling father exhausted after the long day and decided she wanted to head up to her room, she half expected Ted to forget their… plans for the evening but as soon as she mentioned she was going he declined football and went to leave with Natasha instead.

The twins gave the pair matching mischievous looks and bid them goodnight without further probing them, knowing that it was meant to be their special evening.

Inside the house Natasha and Ted were stumbling up the stairs, stopping every few steps when Ted grabbed a hold of her and held her against the railings as they kissed. It was feverish and almost manic, and thankfully her parent's room were on the opposite wing of the house otherwise surely they would have heard the young couple. They kept the same vigour once they reached her bedroom and Ted immediately slammed her onto the bed after shutting the door behind.

.

 **.**

.

"And then what?"

"Well it's pretty self-explanatory, isn't it?" Natasha smiled slowly if not slightly sheepishly, causing Mandy so squeal in delight. " _It_ finally happened."

"And? How did it feel?"

"… Yeah," she replied with a shrug. "It was alright…"

"… Just alright?"

"Yeah," Natasha unpacked her things with an awkward smile and a shake of her head. "… I'm not really big on kissing and telling."

Natasha had only just arrived back on campus with Ted, and Mandy had already began interrogating her on last night's events. It was difficult to admit but losing one's virginity wasn't all it turned out to be… and frankly she felt a little embarrassed about the whole situation.

"Yeah, but it's sexing and telling now, Nat!" Mandy carried on with a grin. "So as the first one to lose the v-card you gotta tell me honestly!"

"Oh, Mandy, do we have to?" she groaned as she pulled the final item out of her bag and it just had to be the damned yellow shirt. Without thinking she tossed it aside and sat down on the bed beside the bag. "… Okay, it hurt… a lot."

"Oh…" the smile vanished from her friend's face. "… Well… I mean that's alright… I heard it's normal for it to hurt a bit the first time…"

"I suppose…" Natasha glanced away awkwardly. "I guess but- I don't know… it… it just didn't feel good, Mandy. Like at all."

"Oh, Nat…" Mandy came over and placed an arm over Natasha's shoulder carefully. "It's going to be alright. You didn't do anything wrong… don't worry about it. Did… you tell Ted?"

"No, he thought we… came together."

"Right," Mandy pressed her lips together, feeling just as uneasy as her friend did and she desperately tried to find a way to change the subject. "Oh hey, isn't that Bif's present?"

"Yeah," Natasha picked the box up. "I tried his house this morning but his mum said he's been staying at Harrington House for a while now… which only means more trouble for me."

"Do you want me to come with?"

"No, I'll be okay," Natasha smiled. "Thanks though, Mandy. I'll see you in a bit."

.

 **.**

.

Derby Harrington prided himself in the architectural landmark he and his family had so generously gifted Bullworth Academy. Not only was it a stunning structure but he liked to think it reminded the lesser students of his wealth and superiority… what he did not like was seeing a certain red-haired cheerleader walking through the door… the very same one that can render his right-hand man all confused and mixed up.

"Good morning, Derby," she greeted neither in a friendly or cold manner. "I'm looking for Bif."

"Yes, of course you are," Derby crossed his arms. "I am hoping you have good reason for coming to see him."

"Uh, reason such as?"

"Perhaps finally leaving behind that imbecilic quarterback of yours?"

"… That's not what's happening," Natasha sighed, she did her best to avoid Derby Harrington knowing that nothing ever good came from speaking with him but even when she had no choice to he was always nasty about Ted or her brothers. "I just need to return something to Bif."

"The present he gave you?"

"Yes, that's right."

"And why on earth would you do that?"

"… Look Derby, I don't want to cause any trouble. I just-."

"You cause troubles for me by simply existing, Natasha Evans," Derby properly hissed at her. "You have my poor friend shamelessly hooked around your little finger and he has become an embarrassment-."

"Derby, what's going on-?" came Bif's voice and soon he emerged from the stairwell. "Natasha? Are you alright?"

"Y-Yeah…" Natasha nodded back, slightly shaken and taken back by Derby's words. She had no idea he had hated her so much, sure they never really got along but she always thought it was just because they never had the chance to really speak or get to know each other… and mostly she thought it was just because her and her brothers were part of different cliques. She never guessed he could have actually hated her… and over something to do with Bif's feelings towards her. "Um, I just wanted to give this back to you."

"What?" Bif looked perplexed as he took the box back from her. "Don't worry about it being expensive or anything, I can afford it."

"Well I mean… there's that, the money, and my ear's aren't even pierced… but most importantly I'm with Ted…" she felt so small under both Bif and especially Derby's heavy gaze. "And it's just not… appropriate."

"… I know that, but please just hear me out-."

"Just drop it, okay?" Natasha raised her voice. "Please…!"

Silence overcame them and Natasha felt like she was about to burst into tears, she hated having to do this and her nerves were really beginning to get to her.

"Isn't it about time you saw her for what she is?" Derby spoke first and it felt like a final blow. "… Show her out once you're done with her."

With those final words Derby walked past them and headed out the front door. Derby's words don't mean anything, at least that is what she always told herself but today they cut into her and she has never felt so insignificantly small before.

"… I think you should go," both Bif's tone and expression grew cold, his usual tall stature now frightened her as he peered down at her, and although Natasha had wanted nothing more than to leave she did not expect this reaction from Bif. He began to turn to walk away and Natasha fought the feeling to call out to him, it was difficult but after all this was her choice and she knew she would never be able to reciprocate Bif's feelings.

As she prepared to leave the front door slammed open. Both Natasha and Bif simultaneously turned around and saw Mandy run in teary-eyed and her face red from crying. Natasha immediately rushed over and placed her hand over her friend's back.

"What's wrong?" Natasha did her best to push away her own agony as she tried to calm her friend down. "What's happened?"

"I-It's," Mandy tried to speak between hiccups but the tears would not stop. "Y-Your family… they were _–hic–_ in a car crash…"

"…What…"

The world instantly came crashing down and the floors beneath her feet seemed to cave in when realisation hit her.

It was her car.

The only reason her family would be in a car together at this moment… the safety.

"Nat! Natasha! Snap out of it! We've got to go!" Mandy cried out hysterically. "Nat, an officer is here waiting for you!"

Despite the noise and having her shoulders shaken Natasha remained unmoving and glassy-eyed with tears now pooling in her eyes.

"Bif, do something!" Mandy whipped her attention to Bif who looked just as horrified as Natasha did. "Bif!"

"I'll… go myself…"

Bif could only watch as Natasha shrugged Mandy's hands off her shoulders and leave through the door, her expression a blank look of denial and it appeared she has no comprehension of anything else that went on around her. She did not so much as acknowledge Derby who had been standing outside the door looking like he had been cut himself.

.

 **.**

.

Two weeks after the incident the same routine was going on in New Coventry. The boys were busy trying to fix up some free cable on their crappy television set while Johnny and Lola were in yet another nonsensical argument in the next room. It was the same thing every single damn day, the only one brave enough to speak to Johnny about it was Peanut but each time he did Johnny would shut himself off leaving no room for persuasion.

The cable seemed to be going nowhere and there was meant to be a big boxing match playing on a premium channel tonight, the boys have spent the whole week trying to hijack their set but it was still no use. Eventually Vance and Lucky strolled into the room holding two six-packs each. Although the main purpose for their get together was for the match even without it the boys were still happy to sit around drinking until something else interesting came on TV.

"Heard something strange when we were in town," Lucky said all of a sudden. "You guys know Natasha Evans?"

"The cute cheerleader?" Lefty asked, perking up at any mention of hot girls. "What about her?"

"Yeah, well you know how her and her brothers haven't been in school for two weeks? Apparently their parents got killed in a car accident."

"No, shit, seriously?" Ricky coughed after choking on his beer. Lucky then informed them that she had been on campus during the accident and it seemed that the twin driving was miraculously unscathed and the other hospitalised out of town. "Jesus Christ…

"So she's fine…" Peanut sighed, knowing that Johnny would probably be relieved to hear the news. They had a couple of classes together after all and for someone that he was meant to dislike, Johnny always spoke quite highly of Natasha. "We should probably let Johnny know-."

A loud scream interrupted the atmosphere and it served as a cruel reminder that Lola was still their reality. No one in the room really fancied going next door to bear the news to their leader, the last thing anyone wanted was to get in between the couple so they all just remained sitting in front of the TV hoping that the argument would end soon so they could relay the information.

Little did they know that they would all forget entirely after a few more beers and the incident would remain unheard to Johnny.


	5. five

.

 **.**

 **Look Alive, Sunshine**

 _ **five**_

 **.**

.

* * *

.

 **.**

.

It started about ten minutes ago. Ben knew there would be consequences coming to visit his sister but he certainly was not expecting a growing reception, he shifted when he heard more giggling come from the door and he wondered why that terrifying Ms. Peabody was allowing the girls to clamour like this. Ben had planned to step in, confront his sister and leave without a hassle; sitting in the girl's dormitory under the scrutiny of giggling girls was far from the plan.

Actually he had been surprised Ms. Peabody let him stay at all knowing how notorious she was with male students but he quickly understood that the staff must have been told of their family's circumstances. It felt a bit crap knowing that everyone knew and giving them special attention, even with the special treatment he would still pick to have no one know.

Ben frowned slightly when he heard another giggle and he checked his watch wondering where on earth his sister was. The last she saw of her she was leaving campus with Johnny Vincent and she has not been to the rest of her classes, and now it was getting late enough for him to begin to worry.

He glanced to the side, tired of keeping his eyes glued to the floor but refusing to acknowledge the girls by the door. A particular stuffed bear on her bed caught his eye, the sheer size of it was so ridiculous that he would recognise it anywhere; it was the very same one he and Matt had tried to win Natasha.

 _'…Anyone but Johnny Vincent…'_

"What's going on? Get out of the way!"

The girls quickly dispersed and Natasha eventually stumbled through into the room, she took one look at Ben and quickly made the connection in her head, she slammed the door shut behind and sighed.

"Hey, I appreciate you coming all the way but you should go soon, curfew's in a few minutes," she barely looked at him as she walked by and placed her bag down on the dresser. Natasha paused as she turned to look over her shoulder. "You don't want Ms. Peabody catching you in here… wait… how did you get in?"

"Don't worry about that," he stood up and stopped by her bed, picking the bear up. "I've been looking for you all day."

"I was off campus, sorry," she offered him a smile but she quickly realised that he was not going to let it slide. She glanced between him and the bear. "What?"

"Were you with Johnny Vincent?"

"So what if I was?" she asked stiffly, smile disappearing as she returned to unpacking the bag. "Is there a problem here?"

"I just don't think guys like him are right for you."

"And guys like Ted Thompson were?"

"No, I understand that now which is why I don't want you making the same mistake…!"

"Yeah well, he's not Ted," Natasha finally placed the bag down and walked over, taking the bear from her brother. "He's nothing like Ted."

"Look, listen… I'm just worried about you," he sighed. "You haven't been acting very… you lately. In fact, everyone's worried."

"Well I mean, how can I?" she asked coldly. "After everything that's happened how can you go on as if nothing happened? Don't you care about our brother at all? You haven't shown up once since he woke up, he's been asking for you constantly!"

"I- of course I care, Nat! He's my twin," his expression twisted and he looked almost pained by her accusations. "I just… need some time, alright? I want nothing more than to see him but… I… it's difficult."

"It's difficult for all of us," Natasha sighed as she placed the bear down and tiptoed up to hug her brother. "But I promised him I'll get you there and I'm counting on you to show up next visit."

"… That's this Sunday, right?"

"Mhmm," she released him with a small smile. "We'll head there together from campus?"

"Yeah, sounds good," Ben returned the smile. "… Did Johnny get you that bear?"

"Oh yeah, isn't he cute?" Natasha smiled as plopped herself down on the bed and hugged the bear. "His name's Mr. Snuggles."

"Mr. Snuggles?" Ben repeated distastefully. "Did he come up with the name?"

"No," she shook her head. "He liked Fred but it wasn't happening."

"Well I don't like the guy but Fred's sounding pretty good than the likes of Mr. Snuggles," Ben chuckled as he ducked down to avoid a light slap from his sister, he grinned as he shuffled back and bent down to pick up his backpack from the floor. "Well then I'll be off now."

"Hey, wait a minute!" she called after him. "You hung up on me!"

"What's this?" Ben asked.

"When we were last on the phone you hung up on me!"

"I don't remember anything like that," he shrugged, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Well I better go! See ya!"

"Ben! That's for hanging up on me!" she ran up, grabbed his arm and poked him in the chest. Then she poked him again. "And that one's for Matt, for you taking this long to finally agree to visit."

"Alright, alright," he swatted her hand away with a smile. "I'm sorry, okay? I didn't know what to say at the time."

"I know, it's alright," she nodded as she stepped back. "I'll see you Sunday then."

"You know it," he was heading to the door but he paused before he opened the door. "And Nat?"

"Yeah?"

"You seem better."

"… Thanks, I do feel better."

"… Let's hope it lasts."

Natasha did not reply to that, in fact she might have scowled at him before she turned around and prepared for bed. He supposed he deserved that kind of response, they had been making good progress after all but… there was just something not quite right about the whole situation. How easily she has run into Johnny's arms, a guy who's practically a stranger to her and her world.

At least his visit was done. It has taken a lot longer and took way too much out of him but it was finally done. He has done most of what he set out to do, find out her whereabouts today and speak about Matt, he has not quite managed to ask her to stop seeing Johnny but at least she was aware of his disapproval… although he had put it not so eloquently.

"Oh hey, Ben."

"Hi," Ben responded without even looking since he was still preoccupied with his thoughts. He had not noticed the two girls standing close to him until someone grabbed his arm. "Oh, god. What?"

"Uh Ben, being rather rude are we not?"

Ben looked up and resisted the urge to frown. He should have guessed it was Mandy standing in front of him and by her side was none other than Pinky who leered at him in a way that made him uncomfortable. They both wore their pyjamas and it appeared they were heading back to Mandy's room… the room she used to share with his sister.

"So, you've certainly caused quite the commotion," Mandy eyed him coarsely, raising an eyebrow as if to look surprised but they both knew that she knew what he had been here for. "So what brought you here?"

"I had to speak to my sister…" Ben replied as he looked for a way to step around the girls but they had him trapped. "Can I help you girls with anything?"

"Like you, we are just concerned about Natasha," Mandy feigned a voice of sympathy. "I mean with the rumours going on around… Happy Volts… and Johnny Vincent of all people. We're all very worried about her."

"And do you actually believe that crap?" Ben was beginning to lose his temper, he hated the condescending tone Mandy used to speak about his family but he knew better than to go off at her.

"Well we all saw Johnny for ourselves," Mandy scoffed with a smirk. "But your sister being crazy…? Well it was Pinky who told me, she said she saw her coming down from Happy Volts."

"I did, I swear it," Pinky piped up. "I was with Derby, he saw it too."

"Huh, really… say Pinky, what are you doing here anyway?" Ben asked with a charming smile, knowing a sure way of distracting Pinky was to get her to start talking about herself. "Thought you were usually holed up with that sorry bunch at Harrington House."

"Funny you should ask," Pinky sighed as she blinked furiously. "That whore Lola moved into Harrington House a couple of weeks ago cuz' well you know, Johnny dumped her and she's all over Gord. I can't stand the sight of her much less having her around so I moved out and Mandy offered me the spare bed in her room."

"Oh no, you poor girl. Best to you," he cooed as he stepped closer towards her, towering her slightly as he smiled down which caused her to giggle. He managed to slip past her and head down the corridor. "Well I hope you two ladies have a good evening. I'll be off then."

"Goodnight Ben!"

Safe to say this whole experience had been horrendous in every way possible and it was going to be a long time before he felt comfortable enough to walk into this building even knowing that he would be welcomed.

.

 **.**

.

Sunday came quickly and although he has had time to mentally prepare himself Ben still felt nervous standing next to his sister at the rusty gates of Happy Volts. Natasha led the way with a familiarity that he wished he possessed, and in fact, he felt rather guilty for not having. They entered the facility and took a few turns before stopping outside one of the wings which Natasha explained was the one for patients not well enough to be up. With each step he only got more anxious but he knew there was no running now, he made a promise and it was about time he showed his sorry face to his twin.

The orderly greeted them with a warm smile and Natasha introduced Amanda to the younger twin.

"So this is the brother I've heard so much about," Amanda shook his hand with a bright smile. "Matt always speaks about you. He's going to be thrilled to see you."

"Right, yeah…" Ben only just realised he had his fists clenched subconsciously, he was gripping so tight that it hurt slightly. "Um can we see him now?"

"Yes, of course. Follow me this way."

As if she felt his nervousness, Natasha held her brother's arm and squeezed it with a reassuring smile as they walked down the hallway where they eventually stopped outside room A09. Amanda gave the siblings look before she lightly knocked on the door and opened it.

"Matthew, you've got visitors."

"You've got this," Natasha whispered as she headed on in first, releasing his arm as she went in to greet Matt. "Hey, guess who's here?"

It was a familiar sight, Matt was sat up on the bed staring out the window and his expression hardly changed when he saw Natasha at the door, she offered him a smile as she stepped out of the way to let Ben in. Natasha grinned as she watched Ben step into the room, obviously still uneasy with a strange look on his face.

"Hey Matty," Ben mumbled. "It's been a while."

The older twin visibly stiffened when he saw Ben, his expression was unreadable as he slowly climbed out of bed and walked towards them. Natasha expected a happy reunion but she was beginning to grow nervous when Matt has not said a word yet. She held her breath as Matt stopped in front of Ben, they were still the same in every possible way but the scars from the accident were still fresh on Matt's body; he was noticeably thinner and his hair cut short from when they had to perform surgery on his head.

"… What took you so long?" Matt eventually said, his tone serious but he slowly cracked a smile. Matt pulled his twin into a hug and laughed ecstatically. "Aw man Benny… it's been… been…-."

"I know," Ben squeezed his eyes shut when he heard Matt's voice cracking, breaking the front he had tried so desperately to put up for him. "I know Matty, I'm sorry I wasn't there… I know it's been difficult… I'm so sorry."

Natasha and Amanda exchanged happy looks before the orderly showed herself out to give the siblings some privacy. As the brothers spoke Natasha hung back and let them have their moment, knowing that their reunion was a long-time coming and far more personal for the twins. She watched with a silly grin on her face and she was surprised when Matt pulled glanced around Ben with his arm held out towards her, without a thought she ran to them and joined their hug.

"Aw, thank you Nat," Matt held her close. "You're an angel we don't deserve… I am very sorry about what happened last time."

"Don't mention it," she hugged him back one last time before pulling away. "I'm just glad you're doing better."

The rest of the day was spent just casually hanging out with Matt, there was a lot to catch up on and much to be said between all three of the siblings. Amanda came in every hour to check on their progress and with each visit she looked brighter as she jotted down her observations into her clipboard.

Natasha would have thought that football was a touchy subject for him but Matt was genuinely curious about the state of the football team since he's been gone, all was going well until he asked about her and Ted.

"Oh… uh…" Natasha trailed off, avoiding her eldest brother's gaze. "We- um broke up a while ago."

"… How long is a while ago?" Matt asked.

"About two weeks after the accident."

"… That bastard, he's always been a prick," Matt's demeanour changed entirely and she knew that she best tried to calm him down worried he would have another outburst. "Why didn't you tell me this sooner?"

"I didn't think it was important… I'm sorry," Natasha spoke quietly. "Plus I didn't want to worry you when you had enough… problems."

"Matty, just let it go," Ben held his twin's forearm. "He's not worth it."

"… I guess so, yeah…" Matt attempted to smile as his composure relaxed again. "Anything else interesting happen recently? Nat doesn't tell me anything."

"Oh, well, our baby sister started seeing someone else," Ben smirked. "Guess who."

"Bif?"

"Off."

"… Who else is there? Uh… one of the grease-kids?" Matt tried and his twin nodded back. "Er… Peanut? … Ricky? Oh no, not Ricky-."

"Johnny Vincent."

"Johnny-? Really?" Matt turned to his sister. "You're dating?"

"I guess we're kinda seeing each other," she tried not to sound too giddy but she knew she was grinning ear-to-ear. "It's very recent though… and I'm not even sure so…"

"Well I hardly know the guy…" Matt seemed to contemplate on it. "Wasn't he dating that catty girl for the longest time?"

"Yeah, Lola… I think they broke up a few months ago," she became uneasy under her brothers' stares. "I had a run-in with her a while ago but Johnny stood up for me."

"Good then," Matt patted her head. "Hope things work out for you two."

"Thanks," she smiled back.

Towards the end of the day when visiting hours were coming to an end, Amanda came in to check up on the siblings. She gave Natasha and Ben a few minutes to say goodbye before escorting them out, and she sounded enthusiastic about today's progress and thanked Ben for coming because it has made an obvious and drastic difference. She even said that if his condition kept improving it would only be a short matter of time before the doctors considered discharging him.

"That's great news," Natasha beamed. "And from then on it won't be long before he can come to school again."

"Well, that might still take a while," Amanda smiled at the girl's eagerness. "But if he does improve I don't see why he can't recuperate at home under familiar surroundings."

"That would be amazing," Ben nodded back.

"Ben, you should visit more often," Amanda turned to him. "He seems to respond well towards his family but especially with you. It might be because you two are twins, or maybe because you two were in the accident together; whatever it is though, it's working."

"Right, yeah…" Ben forced a smile and nodded again, this time rather stiffly. "Thanks for today."

Once outside Natasha let out a large sigh and stretched her arms towards the sky.

"This is so great, he's going to be better in no time," she exclaimed brightly. "… So what now? It's getting pretty late."

"I got ball practice," Ben said as they headed towards their bikes. "Coach's putting on extra evening sessions for the game end of the month so I'm just gonna rush ahead first, alright?"

"Go for it," she waved. "I'll see you at school tomorrow."

Ben quickly said goodbye and told her to take care on her way back before he disappeared out the gate first. Stopping by her bike, Natasha took a moment to just collect herself and think over today's visit, she was nothing but ecstatic about today and she felt relieved knowing that the topic of her brother's discharge was considered without her having to bring it up.

Natasha jumped slightly when a guard's voice came from behind her and she hurriedly climbed onto her bike and pedalled out of the gate so they could close it after her.

She was not sure what came over her exactly but she decided to stop in town for some snacks before heading back to the dorm. As she stopped outside Yum Yum Market she noticed that there was an odd number of bikes parked outside, she noticed this because she did not have room to park her bike and she was about to leave for another store when she caught a glimpse of leather through the shop window. She immediately hopped off her bike, pushed it against the bike closest to the door and headed inside.

A strange sight greeted her. There must have been at least five of greasers gathered inside all looking as if they were ready to smash the place… and perhaps they had been about to with the way Johnny was speaking.

"And why the hell would you not sell em' to us?" Johnny growled at the poor clerk. "You're lucky me and boys don't clear this place out!"

Unaware of Natasha's presence, Johnny continued to harass the clerk. Standing close to the door was Ricky who had spotted her instantly, he gave her a friendly smile and filled her in on the details. Apparently the greasers had to head out to Bullworth Town to buy spray paint since the market over in New Coventry had run out, the clerk from the usual store even said he would put in a good word for them but it appeared it did not happen since the clerk from the current store was refusing to sell them any.

"Look buddy," Johnny suddenly made a grab for the clerk's collar, dragging him over the counter so that they were looking each other in the eye. "You've got exactly five seconds to bring me all your spray paint or I'm gonna knock your-."

"His teeth out? His hair off?"

Johnny snapped as he released the clerk, practically shoving the poor man back causing him to almost trip, and snapped his head around with a heavy glare at someone fool enough to dare mock him only to find his lovely sweet gal. He went dumbstruck and could only watch as her pretty lips curled into an innocent smile.

"… I was gonna say 'face clean'," Johnny dropped his hand and turned around to face her completely, doing that dipping his head low so to see her face thing that she grew to adore as time went on. "I didn't know you were here."

"Hm, that doesn't sound very threatening," she chuckled. "I only just got here… spray paint, right?"

"Yes."

"Sir," Natasha stepped around Johnny and addressed the clerk with a bright smile. "I'd like this pack of crisps and if possible a box of spray paint please?"

"U-Uh," the clerk looked between Natasha and Johnny, and just knew that he was faced with a new dilemma now but he decided it was time to just simply give in given the way the situation seemed to only worsen. "What colour?"

"Colour?" Natasha turned to Johnny and he tapped her head, running a finger through her hair. Natasha gave him a smile before she turned back to the clerk. "Red, please."

The clerk disappeared into the back hurriedly and returned with a large cardboard box, its contents clinked together as he wobbled out and heaved it onto the counter next to the bag of crisps.

"That will be twen-."

He began punching some numbers into the cash register when all of a sudden the greasers all began to move as if on cue. The greaser from behind her, she couldn't even make out who, ran forward and grabbed the box off the counter and ran off. The rest ran out of the store leaving both Natasha and the clerk dazed.

"I'll see you in a bit, doll," Johnny leaned into her with a grin and gave her a wink before running out to join his boys. The gesture was short and far from sweet, and it sent a shiver down her spine and left her cheeks feeling warm… in a way opposite from how Johnny Vincent usually made her feel…

"It… appears you've been robbed," Natasha smiled at the man sheepishly. "How much again?"

"…Seventy cents," the clerk looked as if he was about to cry. "Thank you for your patronage."

Without looking back in case the clerk did decide to retaliate, she marched out of the store after dropping her coins and picking up her snack. She dumped the crisps into her backpack and began cycling down the road as fast as possible. She kept an eye out for Johnny or any of his friends as she pedalled but it was as if they vanished completely, her first guess was that they probably ran back to the tenements to stash the stolen goods; she would try to follow them if only New Coventry wasn't so… unfriendly. If she did not have Johnny with her she did not feel entirely comfortable being there herself.

She paused at the junction, cycling onto the pavement as she looked ahead at the archway leading into New Coventry. There shouldn't be anything else stopping her but her own nerves, she assumed she was generally welcomed by Johnny's friends; Ricky's inclusion of her earlier in the store should prove that to some extent but yet…

"What's with the sigh?"

Natasha turned around and found Johnny standing by her, his hands tucked in his pockets leisurely and a sloppy smile present on his frustratingly handsome face. She began to climb off her bike.

"You…"

"Me?" he pulled his hands out of his pockets with another playful grin, knowing that she was about to burst. "What's the matter, doll?"

"How could you do that?!" Natasha demanded, ramming one of her small fists into his chest. "How could you rob the man's store like that? You are awful, Johnny!"

"Well I had the cash but I wasn't gonna pay that asshole after all the trouble he put us through," Johnny scoffed, taking her bike handles from her. "Shall we walk and talk?"

"I think that was called doing his job?" Natasha followed after him when he began walking. "And I'd like my bike back, please."

"Where you heading? I'll pedal."

"No thanks," she tried to take the handles back from him but he wouldn't budge. "Johnny!"

"What, did what happened upset you that much?" he stopped walking entirely and turned to her, face now serious and he actually looked rather frightening but Natasha was going to stand her ground.

"Yes, it upset me," she took a deep breath before looking him in the eye. "You committed a crime and I felt terrible being a part of it."

"You choose a weird time to have a conscience for this kinda thing when we've all done some illegal stuff being the kids we are from this town," Johnny shrugged and Natasha became speechless. Obviously she was no saint herself with the shenanigans she got up to in the past with the jocks and the kids in their town were generally quite rebellious… but the way Johnny spoke… she knew he was implying his rough upbringing on the opposite side of the Vale. "You've done your fair share of underage drinking I bet."

"… That's not the same," she frowned. "… You know that's not the same, Johnny…"

"Do I? Seems like the same kinda shit to me."

"… Right," she did not know how to respond, only that she knew this was a side of Johnny she had not considered anticipating when she should have realised it sooner and been expecting it. "Could I have my bike back please?"

"… Here then," he spoke in a tone that sounded almost cold as he passed it back to her. "I'm going."

Just like that he left her standing there and she couldn't do a thing but watch him leave. It should not have ended like that… there was still so much left unsaid but honestly she had no clue what to even say. So far being with Johnny has been nothing but a pleasant experience because he has been nothing but sweet with her but she knew of his reputation, the stories and rumours that circulate around about the greasers; she should have given it more thought so to be ready when being faced with this situation.

She tried not to overthink it and become even more upset but it was only the natural thing to do and she just felt even worse with every moment that passed. She did not know what to make of this side of Johnny that she had only caught a small glimpse of today, it may have even been something she had subconsciously been overlooking in fear of disliking what she might see, but she knew that it was something that they could work out together.

Natasha wanted nothing more than to speak to Johnny and clear the air between them, and she wondered if she went after him now if she could catch up to him but the thought of chasing him into New Coventry and have a potentially heated conversation did not sound very appealing…

That was when she realised she didn't even have his phone number.

 **.**

.

* * *

.

 **.**

This is the part where it starts to steer away from the original story.

Hope everyone is enjoying!

 **.**

.


	6. six

.

 **.**

 **Look Alive, Sunshine**

 _ **six**_

 **.**

.

* * *

.

 **.**

.

A week has almost gone by without Johnny showing up to one class. At first she thought it may have just been a coincidence, after all he was still known to skip classes and she couldn't expect him to change so drastically, but it soon became clear that he may have been deliberately avoiding her. As much as it was irritating he would rather leave things the way they were but avoiding to see her, it was also kind of relieving because Natasha still was not sure how she felt about the entire situation and there wasn't really anyone she can confide in and ask for advice…

"When's homecoming anyway?" an agitated voice pulled her back to reality. "Why do we need to start preparations now?"

Natasha eyed darted to the front of the room where the homecoming committee and student volunteers were discussing the plans, the committee was decided beginning of the year when Natasha was still head-cheerleader so naturally she was voted in so she was required to attend the meetings and help organise the dance. Mandy had given her a curt look when she walked in but otherwise the other girls greeted her friendly enough. The student volunteers were made up of mostly non-faction students, preps and Earnest who insisted that he needed to have a say in all school events as student president.

"Homecoming game is in three weeks and the dance that Friday," Mandy shot Chad a glare that seemed to frighten him into complete silence. "We need to begin preparations now because you're all incompetent. So, here's the checklist and the group responsible for flyers are-."

Mandy proceeded to read out her list and Natasha found it difficult to keep herself tuned in with her thoughts straying to a certain someone.

"And lastly Natasha, you're in charge of shopping and decorations," Mandy stopped in front of her and put down an envelope on her desk. "Here's the money for the materials and the list is inside. We're going to need them for tomorrow."

"But it's already six-thirty and-."

"Then I suggest you hurry into town before the shops close," she turned away just like that and adjourned the meeting.

As everyone left, Natasha opened up the envelope and frowned at the wad of cash before taking out the list to look over. It actually wasn't as bad as she thought it would be, there were just large quantities of stationary and colour paper; things that should be easy enough to find if only she could get to the stores in time. Tucking the envelope safely into her bag she ran for the school gates.

.

 **.**

.

Turned out there was a little store hidden away just in the heart of town that was an ultimate lifesaver and Natasha was able to get just about everything. The last item on the list she only knew one place that sold it and she was running out of time so she had to go into Yum Yum Market for… spray paint. It was awkward going in there and faced with the same clerk from last Sunday, in fact she had been worried he would refuse to sell them to her after what happened but he seemed relieved that it was only her and not a large group of mean looking leather jacket wearing boys.

With her the box of spray paint in a tow she exited the store and sighed when she saw her bike parked against the fence with the bags of shopping hanging off the handles, it was a wonder no one took it but then again one look at it was enough to make you feel sorry for the owner. She groaned as she attempted to place the box on the rear rack of the bike but it won't sit steady and she was beginning to wonder if she would have to call her brother to help when she spotted two familiar guys having a smoke across the street. She debated it in her head because despite everything the two leather clad boys still intimidated her and it took every bit of her willpower to go up to them with a smile that she hoped looked friendly enough.

"Oh hey Natasha," Ricky spotted her first and greeted her coolly with a wave. "You doing alright?"

"Hey," Peanut nodded in her direction before noticing her bike behind her. "Whoa, doing some shopping?"

"Hi guys," she stopped herself before she nearly bowed at them. "Stuff for homecoming… I'm in charge of shopping."

"Just you?"

"Yup," she nodded sheepishly. "I actually have a problem. You guys are good with bikes, aren't you?"

"Well sure."

"Would you mind having a look at mine? I need to get the box to sit on the rack but it won't stay. What's your verdict?"

"Oh sure, I've got just the thing," Ricky put out his cigarette and reached into his pocket as they headed across the street. He pulled out what looked like two hooks with a thin rope attached between the ends and got right to work. Natasha had no idea why he would be carrying something like that around with him but for whatever reason she was thankful.

"Geez, Rick, what's that," Peanut asked distastefully. "Why you carrying round' weird things like that for."

"It's handy for bike tuning, you never know when your bike'll bust," Ricky seemed to take offense at his friend's tone. "It's helpful now, ain't it?!"

"Definitely," Natasha answered for Peanut. "Thanks a bunch Ricky. I would have been stuck if it weren't for you."

"See, the lady gets it."

Natasha smiled with a nod, finding herself oddly enjoying the company of the two greasers although she didn't know what to say to them exactly. The only thing they had in common after all was Johnny. "… Would you mind if I asked you two something?"

"Not at all."

"Shoot."

"… I was actually wondering what Johnny's been up to this week."

"Oh, uh," Ricky exchanged a look with Peanut, and the latter shrugged before he nodded, giving his approval. Ricky seemed to think for a moment before turning back to the bike. "Well Johnny's been home, don't think he's left since Sunday night."

"Home?"

"Yeah, his parents' old place in town."

"In town?" Natasha repeated. "I thought he lived in New Coventry."

"Most of us do, yeah," Peanut informed her. "But Johnny and Hal live in town."

"I see… I didn't know that," she dropped her gaze.

"… Did you two get into an argument?"

"Oh, uh," she looked back up, her face red, embarrassed because she wasn't even sure who had asked her. "Kind of, yeah… I think I may have overreacted."

"Not sure what happened but arguments are a common thing for Johnny," Peanut told her. "And he can get very defensive but he doesn't think things through before saying them."

"That I know," she half-smiled. "… I just don't seem to know much else about him… his past… his family… his friends even."

"Well we're pretty much an open book," Peanut chuckled. "… Johnny though… don't let his temper fool you, he isn't as transparent as he seems."

"Right…" she thought back to the only two relationships she has been in and wondered how she managed to stomach being with such thick-headed guys. "I guess I've just gotten used to being with transparent guys."

That made Peanut and Ricky laugh, and she found herself smiling with them.

"You know Natasha, people don't give you half as enough credit," Peanut grinned at her, Natasha laughed in response and asked what he meant by it. "Well you know how you cheerleaders are, most guys only see… or saw you as that. You always seemed like a nice girl though."

"Oh," she was taken back by his last words, she was a little embarrassed to be honest but happy nonetheless now that she felt a little closer to Peanut. That was when Ricky stood up and patted his hands on his jeans, informing her that it was all fixed up for her. "Thanks… you guys are a lot nicer than you look."

"So the only reason why cute cheerleaders won't speak to us is because we look unfriendly?"

"… A little scary maybe," she said, knowing that was always the reason why she never spoke to the greasers but she couldn't be certain about the other girls. "And Ricky, really thanks for this. I owe you one."

"Oh?" his tone worried her and she may have just made a grave mistake. "I'll keep that in mind then."

"Nothing weird alright?" she laughed as she climbed onto her bike. "I better get this stuff back. I'll see you guys around."

"Hey, wait Natasha," Peanut called to her before she could leave, he took a moment to jot down something on a piece of paper before passing it to her. "Johnny's address… please go see him. He's a stubborn one."

"… I'll think about it…" she pocketed the address after taking a brief look at it. "Thanks."

.

 **.**

.

"Our Mr. Vincent not in again today, hm?"

"Looks like it," Natasha tried to smile when Doctor Slawter stopped her on her way out at the end of class. "Was there something you needed him for?"

"Well nothing at all since it makes no real difference to me if he's here or not. It was just an observation," he said as he packed his teaching materials away and walked her out of class. "Though a lot of the staff have shared the same sentiments last week when he showed up to almost every one of his classes. They say a good influence has entered his life but apparently it didn't last. I'll see you next week then Miss Evans."

"Right… thank you sir."

Natasha knew what her teacher was getting at but she didn't have the time to think it over since she was in too much of a hurry to get to the school gym where preparations were still undergoing and Mandy has become homecoming dictator literally just overnight. It seemed that Mandy didn't believe that Natasha could actually purchase everything in time and had shown up yesterday expecting her to have only some of the items but thankfully Natasha was able to show her up one but that meant they had to get right to work and they spent rest of the evening working. It had been difficult to concentrate in classes today since she's hardly had any sleep and she was not looking forward to another evening under Mandy's wrath.

The first thing Natasha noticed when she walked into the gym was how lax the atmosphere was, it was nothing like the previous evening when they all had to keep their heads down and work in silence. Today people were actually laughing and enjoying themselves. The second thing she noticed was that Mandy was absent.

"Hey Christy," she approached the lone girl who had been on her own working on a banner. Thankfully the cheery redhead gave her a smile that showed she held no animosity towards Natasha. "Where's Mandy?"

"She said she wasn't feeling well today. Pinky's in charge today," Christy replied as she pointed towards the front of the gym where Pinky looked to be struggling with a clipboard. "But between me and you, I think her and Ted got into a fight."

"Oh," Natasha didn't know how to feel about that. "… Hope she feels better soon. Do you want some help?"

"Oh sure, thanks Nat," Christy smiled brightly as Natasha sat down beside her. Natasha picked up a spare red marker and helped block out the large letters on the banner. Even though it's been quite a while she had a moment to properly speak to Christy, it felt like nothing has changed between them and honestly Natasha felt relieved for that. She wasn't sure what she would do if things got awkward between her and Christy of all people. "… Say Nat, you know we've missed you right? Even though Mandy's acting like that, she doesn't really hate you…"

"I find that hard to believe but thanks for still talking to me."

"Of course!" Christy said perhaps a little too loudly, capturing everyone's attention and she looked embarrassed by everyone's gaze on them. "Angie and I both miss you lots. Don't be a stranger."

Natasha offered the girl a smile as she nodded.

"By the way…"

Oh there it was: that nosy side of Christy's.

"I heard you and Johnny Vincent are a thing now," she giggled. "How's it going?"

"… We're not really officially together or anything," Natasha tried not to give too much away when she didn't even know where they stood with each other at the moment. "… We're still trying to work things out."

"Oh right," she looked sympathetic. "He's a catch but he's a difficult one isn't he, everyone knows him but no one _really_ knows him."

"… Yeah, you're totally right."

"Uh… sorry for interrupting," a voice came from behind them. They both turned around and found Pinky standing there abashed. "Natasha… would you mind helping me with this checklist. I can't understand any of it…"

"Uh…" Natasha and Christy looked between each other before Natasha turned back to Pinky who looked completely helpless. "You know what, sure."

Pinky instantly glowed with happiness when Natasha stood up and took the clipboard from her. Its contents were straightforward enough for Natasha, she couldn't even guess what it was that Pinky did not understand but she went straight to work going around to tick off the list as she inspected everyone's work. It took about fifteen minutes to go around and make sure that everyone was on task and that they were on schedule, and another five minutes to fill out the excruciatingly detailed clipboard that reflected their progress.

"Gee, thanks Natasha…" Pinky smiled briefly when she got the clipboard back and looked it over. "You're a lifesaver."

"Don't worry about it."

Natasha excused herself and headed outside for a short break. The cool evening breeze was welcomed and she leaned against the wall, resting her head back as she properly relaxed after an entire day of what seemed like nonstop movement; it was a great feeling to just have everything… still and quiet.

But she was never that lucky.

"Oh, Natasha."

It was an all too familiar gruff voice, and Natasha immediately opened her eyes and stepped away from the wall. It was Mr. Burton.

"Good evening, sir."

"It's been a long time since I last saw you cheering for my team," he looked anything but sincere and she began to feel really uncomfortable in the man's presence. "We certainly miss your enthusiasm… any plans to cheer again?"

"Not at the moment…" she avoided meeting his coarse gaze. "I should probably get back-…"

"You know Natasha, between you and your brothers I've always appreciated what you siblings have done for my team," Mr. Burton leaned forward and Natasha's whole body froze over. "Cheering does a _great_ deal for morale and it would be a shame to never see you in that little skirt again-."

"Coach Burton!"

Thankfully another voice appeared causing the man immediately pull back into a respectable distance, he did not even look the slightest bit guilty as he turned around to face the newcomer and again she could not catch a break. Standing behind Mr. Burton were Ted and Luis; as disappointed as she was her brother wasn't here to catch the coach's disgusting behaviour it may have been a good thing because surely Ben would have landed himself a suspension if he were to ever witnessed his coach creeping on his sister.

"Coach, I actually have to speak to you about the diet you have me on," Luis spoke without faltering or hint that he was up to something, but Natasha knew that it was very likely he was getting Mr. Burton's attention on purpose at Ted's behest… or perhaps just for her sake knowing that he was actually a decent guy and one of the twins' closer friends.

"Of course… let's speak in my office, shall we?"

Natasha watched with relief as they disappeared into the gym but it soon left her alone with just Ted. She was about to leave when he softly called her name. Natasha froze over again, it was the first time he's spoken to her since they broke up and she had to admit she was curious about what he wanted but she knew that indulging Ted was always a bad idea.

"Could we talk somewhere?" his voice was still quiet, similar to how he would use to speak with her when they were alone. "Please."

"… Where do you have in mind?"

"The bleachers?"

"… I don't know."

"I promise you it's nothing bad, please."

"Okay, fine but only for five minutes," she said as she began walking and he followed. "I've got to get back to work."

"For the dance?"

"Yeah, looks like we're your girlfriend's little elves this year."

"… We've actually broken up."

"What?" they haven't even reached the bleachers yet but she stopped in her tracks, this was the last thing she expected to hear today and she looked at Ted as if he had just broken up with her all over again – except this time instead of sadness and disbelief, her face was laced with scepticism. Ted looked surprised by her reaction but he said nothing and only waited for her. "How come?"

"I didn't like the way she was talking about you."

"You… didn't like the way she was talking about me… right…" Natasha was far from convinced but she instantly made the connection with Mandy's absence today. "So what did you want to say to me?"

"Uh, well… that was kind of it…" his tone was off, as if he was confused. "Aren't you happy?"

"Not the slightest bit," she frowned, having a terrible feeling about where this conversation was heading. "If that was all there is then I'll be leaving now."

"Wait a second!" he grabbed her and tugged her back towards him. "What gives?"

"What do you mean 'what gives'?!" she frowned as she tried to peel at his firm grip on her wrist. "Let me go, Ted."

"I- wait Nat, I'm sorry," he let her go right away when he realised he was hurting her. "Please don't go, let me explain myself."

"Fine," she held her bruised wrist tightly as she took a step back defensively, in fear that he might grab her again. "But make it quick."

"I-I've just been worried about you," he moved towards her again. "I've been hearing things about you and Johnny Vincent, a lot of it from her, and it… it's been making me think."

"Okay, and?"

"I can't trust you with a guy like that-."

"Wait, what? What the hell are you talking about?"

"I want to get back together, Nat."

"… Is this some sick joke?" a wave of discomfort began stirring in her and every moment she looked at his face only made her feel worse.

"Why would you think it's a joke? I'm being very serious."

"Well then you must be off your mind to think I'd want to get back with you on the day you broke up with your girlfriend… who, let me remind you, you left me for to begin with," she was giving herself a headache just trying to make sense of this disgusting love triangle, or a love square that Ted seemed to be pushing for. "Ted, you've always been overzealous and I've put up with it in the past but I refuse to anymore."

"So now you're putting up with trash like Johnny Vincent?"

"Stop trying to make this about Johnny. This is between you and me, and I have absolutely no interest in getting back with you," she stepped back in attempt to put some distance between them but Ted immediately closed the distance again, this time wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her back to him. "Ted, stop it please!"

"This is him, isn't it?" he frowned leaning into her face. "He's got to you and now you can't even think clearly."

"Ted! Like I said this isn't about Johnny, we're not even together… not really," she said the last part with some bitterness. "My feelings about us won't change."

"You don't mean that," he now had her backed up against a wall and he held her in place when she tried to step around him. Natasha may have put on a tough face but the situation was getting her really anxious and she didn't know how much more she could take. "Your parents… would they have wanted us like this? Do you think Matt would want to come back and find you with some greaser punk?"

"… That's not fair, Ted," she said through gritted teeth, trying her best to hide the emotions that began brewing in her at the mention of her parents. "You have no right to bring my family into this… you have no idea what my parents would have wanted and Matt doesn't need you to speak on his behalf."

"Nat, please I miss you. I just want things to be the same as before. -."

"Ted… it won't be the same. It can never be after everything's that happened… you weren't there for me when I needed you so coming around now and saying you miss me is really too fucking late," her words were laced with venom and Ted seemed to be finally hearing her properly. "Let me go now. You keep this up and you're going to find yourself in a bad position. My brothers will come after you, Johnny and his boys will come after you, hell, even Bif might."

Ted let her go almost instantly as if her words had cut him and before he had the chance to speak Natasha bolted past him. She did not look back once and thankfully he did not come after her. Still trying to keep her emotions supressed she hurried into the gym, grabbed her things and made an excuse before practically running out before her tears started to pool in her eyes. The tears eventually fell when she reached outside and she kept her eyes on the ground as she walked through the campus, she hated nothing more than to be seen crying and she refused to let anyone catch her in tears.

She made extra care as she walked by a student standing by the dorms and on an impulse she headed to the school gates instead of her dorm, she fished out the slip of paper Peanut had given to her as she approached her bike.

.

.

.

It was a random urge that led Johnny to go all the way to his favourite diner in New Coventry for some takeaway, he's had nothing but pizza all week and he reckoned it was time to add some variety to his meals. He chose to walk instead of drive, knowing that he probably needed some fresh air and mostly because he was feeling a little too rash to be driving even if it was evening and there wouldn't be much pedestrians. The walk there had been fairly pleasant but on the way back he saw his ex-girl with the rich prat she's been seeing, it instantly soured his mood and he swore he almost charged at Gord with every intent to beat him to a pulp but he knew better, that Lola would only enjoy it and at the end of the day it won't actually help him feel better about the actual reason he has been hiding away this week.

It went without saying that his… disagreement with Natasha has been haunting him. Johnny hated his temper, he might have just driven away the only good thing that has happened to him in his recent memory. She was the perfect girl; smart, kind and totally gorgeous, and he just had to go ruin it. He wasn't sure himself why he had gotten so defensive, she wasn't wrong in pointing out he had done something illegal, but some odd reason it irked him. Perhaps he had been looking at it the wrong way and they were too different to really work, but he still thought that it would be a shame to give up over a few cans of spray paint.

Now that he was feeling all worked up again he made haste so that he could get home quicker, have his damned food and probably drink himself silly again. That was until he came across a peculiar sight, stepping around the corner to his building he found Natasha standing outside by his car. She didn't notice him immediately since she was facing the building and frankly Johnny thought he would just turn the other way and have his dinner at Hal's or something, he knew that nothing good would come from speaking to her now and if anything, he would probably make it worse the way he was now.

While he was still debating whether to leave he noticed that her shoulders were shaking quite drastically and every so often she brought her hand up to wipe her face. Then he realised she was crying… and without another thought he stomped over to her.

"… Baby doll, why are you crying?" he spoke before she noticed his presence and she jumped slightly before turning to face him, and it honestly pained him to see her sobbing and she only broke down more when she saw him. He felt like a complete asshole. "Aw Natasha, I'm sorry for what happened. I know I've been avoiding you and I shouldn't have but-."

"No, it's not you… well not really you," she blurted out between sobs, hardly making sense of her own words. "I- uh- I know it's weird for me to turn up like this… but I was with Ted earlier… he grabbed me and said all this stuff, trying to guilt me into getting back with him and it was just too much I didn't know who else to go-."

"He _grabbed_ you?" the switch flipped back on and Johnny felt ready to murder the blue-eyed pretty boy.

"Yes, but please don't do anything it's already over," she shook her head when she saw the rage on his face, he didn't seem to hear her so she held his arms. "Johnny please, I just want to talk…"

"… Come on up."

Johnny was quiet as he led her up two flights of stairs and to the end of the hallway to his apartment numbered 2-8, he mumbled a quiet 'sorry bout' the mess' once he unlocked the door and showed her in. It was tidier than she expected, it looked like a proper home, not exactly what she expected with it being common knowledge at the academy that Johnny's parents weren't exactly around. He placed his bag of food on the open kitchen counter before waving for her to follow her into the living room area where they sat on a sofa. Johnny wouldn't speak and she could see that he was still agitated.

"… I am sorry for showing up like this…"

"How did you know where I lived?"

"I ran into Peanut and Ricky the other day and when I asked about you Peanut gave me the address…"

"You asked about me?" he sounded surprised.

"Well yeah… I was worried about you… I wanted to talk but obviously this wasn't how I imagined it… sorry."

"Don't apologise for anything yet. I think we both had our faults then… but let's not worry about that now," he finally looked at her, his gaze steady but warm. "I just want to make sure you're alright after… what Thompson did."

"…Yeah," she sniffled again as she remembered the reason why she showed up at Johnny's door so shamelessly in tears. "Thanks Johnny…"

"… Did he touch you?" Johnny asked as he gently put an arm around her and held her shaking body. Johnny wasn't a rumour or shit-talking kind of guy but being a guy in his position as a leader of his own group in a school basically run over by hard-hitting guys you like to get your bearings, and from what he knew about Ted Thompson the guy wasn't exactly the most considerate towards girls… and he can only imagine what he would try to do to Natasha who he would probably see as a pretty doll he misplaced.

"No, no, not really. He had his arms around me… pushed me to a wall," she shook her head, leaning into Johnny's warmth. "… And he said all this stuff about you, my brother, my parents. All of it together… I think it just got to me."

"… No one expects you to be a strong."

"Excuse me?" she turned to look him in the face, looking almost hurt by his comment and he quickly realised she took it the wrong way. Understandably she was probably extra defensive after her encounter with her knob-head of an ex.

"What I meant to say was you're still grieving over your parents and your brother. You should be sad about it… and for a long time because it's a big deal. No one expects you to have gotten over it…" he tried to get his point across without sounding like a bumbling idiot but he still ended up sounding like one. "… And Thompson… using your grief like that… it's just low, isn't it? And to go and touch you like that…"

The anger was returning to his voice and while he got that Natasha didn't want any retaliation against Ted, Johnny already had his own plans for the quarterback.

"I think I understand…" she nodded, returning her head to resting on his shoulder and now Johnny slowly leaned back so that they were lying on the headrest comfortably. "Thanks Johnny… I didn't know where else to go and… I just really wanted to see you."

"… I'm glad you came here," he meant it despite whatever he may have been thinking when he first saw her. He slowly patted her head before running his hand through her hair and she let out a quiet sigh as she nuzzled into his neck. "… Natasha?"

"Yes, Johnny?"

"Do you think we'll be okay?"

"… Yeah, I think we'll be fine for now."

 **.**

.

* * *

.

 **.**

Thanks for your guest review kind reader.

I'm happy to hear you've found the new rewritten version of it.

It's definitely darker but I hope it's staying true to the original.

I'm glad you're enjoying it, and thanks again :)

 **.**

.


	7. seven

.

 **.**

 **Look Alive, Sunshine**

 _ **seven**_

 **.**

.

* * *

.

 **.**

.

"You know Johnny, if all it took was a nice girlfriend for you to start coming to your classes, I would have tried to set you two up myself."

Ms. Philips had been ecstatic to see Johnny in her classroom once again and this time accompanied by none other than Natasha. While Johnny did not seem to care about the attention at all, Natasha felt somewhat abashed by everyone's eyes on them especially considering they had not actually done anything warranting the staring. They were sat near the back and weren't doing anything out of the ordinary, all they've done is paint and Johnny may have accidentally kicked an easel over at the beginning of class but other than that they are completely guilt-free.

While they weren't officially dating it was obvious to all that they were quite taken with each other, Natasha no longer sat on her own during lunches and Johnny has shown up to more of his classes this week than in the past few months combined. His teachers were generally pleased with his effort and the rest of the students could only watch with intrigue as the most interesting development unfolded right before their eyes since the Hopkins-Smith rooftop tussle.

Natasha and Johnny just got on with their lives. They had not spoken about the first incident that drove them apart, and she got the feeling that they were both just trying to focus on the better part of their little relationship for the time being. Natasha had her concerns about Johnny picking a fight with Ted, but so far nothing has happened but then again they hadn't run into each other face-to-face yet… and that could possibly end quite terribly.

"Ow," Natasha gasped as someone pushed past her with some force, knocking into her shoulder quite painfully. She had been walking to the cafeteria with Johnny, sure she was the one preoccupied and wasn't exactly looking where she was going but it still felt excessive.

"Watch where you're going, has-been."

Natasha glanced around and was surprised to find Mandy standing there with the familiar look of disgust on her features. For an entire week Mandy was off-campus, on the record she was ill but people knew that she went home after her break-up. All of Mandy's homecoming responsibilities fell on Natasha with Pinky being as helpful as a glass hammer, and with Mandy out of the way Natasha actually found it quite enjoyable and didn't mind taking charge if it meant the team being productive with their time and she had not heard a single news about Mandy not knowing if she would even be back for homecoming.

"You watch your mouth," Johnny huffed at the cheerleader.

"I'd watch your man-stealing little whore if I were you, Johnny Vincent," Mandy stepped closer towards them, stopping right in front of Natasha and glaring down at her. "I know all about you begging Ted to take you back and getting him to dump me, it's pathetic even for you."

"Where did you hear those lies from?" Natasha frowned right back at her. Unable to even consider the irony with this sudden accusation being thrown at her. "That wasn't what happened at all-."

"Don't lie to me Natasha, he told me himself!" Mandy raised her voice, silencing the smaller redhead at once. They were beginning to attract a crowd and Natasha wasn't sure what the best way to resolve this was. Before Natasha could react Mandy turned to Johnny. "Your girlfriend is a two-timing whore, and here we all thought you'd learn after the first one!"

"What did you say?"

Oh no.

"That's enough," Natasha said as she stepped between Johnny and Mandy, worried that he may actually hit the girl. "You're not thinking this thoroughly, Mandy. We both know Ted doesn't think these things through and he would say anything to get what he wants. I promise you what he said wasn't what really happened, okay? Please let's just let it go-."

"You have some nerve, Natasha…" she shook her head resentfully. "You've already bagged your next fuck and you still aren't satisfied-?"

Before Mandy could finish a flash of leather appeared in the corner of Natasha's eye, almost instantly Johnny had moved Natasha out of the way and grabbed the cheerleader's shoulder. After Mandy's initial shock she looked ready to scream when Johnny covered her mouth with his other gloved hand. Natasha could only watch on as he leaned into her and whispered a few quiet words, she could only make out 'shut the fuck up' and 'crazy bitch'. He let her go immediately after and she didn't seem to be hurt but she looked both terrified and livid.

"You two are psychopaths," she hissed before trotting off.

Brushing the insult aside Natasha was only glad that this terrible encounter was over and ended with what she felt was minimal damage… especially considering Mandy literally came without warning with her claws out and words laced with venom. Natasha took a few quick glances around thankful a prefect wasn't around and gave the sizeable crowd a look that were cutting enough for them to begin to disperse as she walked up to Johnny.

"Hey, you alright?" she asked him. "I'm sorry you had to deal with that."

"The bitch went too far-."

"I know," she held his arm. "Don't let her get to you… we're not going to let her ruin our day."

"… Yeah, yeah," he closed his eyes as he nodded, making a decent effort to control his temper. When he opened his eyes again he seemed to be mostly back to normal. "… I guess this now means you don't have to do the shitty homecoming prep anymore."

"Well I'm technically still a member of the team."

"No, doll, you've done more than your share. You're off the hook and I'm not letting you near that crazy girl," he held her hand as they resumed walking. "And if they have a problem they can take it up with me."

.

.

The rest of the day went by rather uneventfully. Again they became the subject of interest in class when Mr. Hattrick made a rather rude if not inappropriate remark about Johnny's attendance being so easily swayed by a girl… and what it meant about Johnny's character. It had ticked Natasha off and she commended Johnny for keeping his cool, quite literally ignoring him which seemed to annoy the pretentious man. It was beyond her understanding how he managed to get re-hired after that stint with the exam paper answers.

After class ended Johnny and Natasha were heading out of the academy, he had insisted on taking her out so she won't be tempted or forced into carrying on with the preparations but he was surprised to hear that the reason she declined was because she already had plans with her brother.

Ben was waiting by the gate by the time they reached there, and it was the first time Ben and Johnny were really meeting face-to-face so there was an impending doom kind of feeling looming over them.

"Hey Ben… you know Johnny," Natasha greeted him with a sheepish smile. "Johnny, this is my brother Ben."

"Hey, you doing alright?" Johnny nodded at him with hardly a change on his expression but the greeting sounded friendly enough, she hoped.

"Yeah… hey," Ben replied before turning to his sister. "So I heard that Mandy gave you two trouble during lunch… will you be okay?"

"Definitely yeah… and Johnny's even banned me from doing any more homecoming preparations so I won't have to see her any time soon."

"Really? Good call, man… thanks," Ben turned to Johnny and gave him an awkward smile. "… Well Nat, should we go then?"

"Where you off to? Want a lift?"

"Oh uh-," Natasha quickly glanced to Ben whose look turned dark. "No, it's alright. Thanks though. I'll see you tomorrow."

Whether or not Johnny noticed the siblings' distress he didn't push the matter and simply waved them goodbye before heading out to his car. Natasha and Ben waited a few moments before they began their journey to Happy Volts, Ben said he would pedal for the both of them so they shared one bike and decided they best take the long way around just in case any students spotted them since it has now become a rather strange sight for them to be together.

"Are you sure you're okay after what happened with Mandy?"

"Yeah… I mean it sounds like Ted's been spreading some lies…" Natasha held on to keep her balance when they reached the winding road leading towards the asylum. "I don't think there's much I can do about people believing it or not…"

"I heard about that… he's actually finally lost it," Ben sighed. "… I don't know what happened between you two recently but I know he's full of shit. I tried clearing it up with the guys but…"

"Don't worry about it. It doesn't matter to me all that much… plus it's the guys, their opinion is the last thing I care about right now."

Ben remained unconvinced but he decided to drop it for the time being knowing that they had a larger matter on hand. All the previous visits have ended well and Amanda had been mentioning Matt's discharge on a positive note, meaning that the final decision should be made very soon and hopefully in their favour. It was still a stretch but Natasha and Ben were secretly hoping they would let him out soon enough so that Matt could at least attend homecoming in one way or another.

Today's visit went smooth as usual. Now that the twins were back together it didn't feel like there was much reason for Natasha to be around, it was like how it was in the past; the boys reminiscing and chatting about football, girls and various things Natasha could not quite participate in being the younger sister. So instead she played on her phone to pass time, clicking away on her Nokia's snake game and messaging Johnny though he was terrible at replying.

 _ **From:**_ _Johnny_

 _ **Time:**_ _17:49_

 _ **Message:**_ _Sounds like you should've come with me instead_

Natasha smiled and began typing back a reply when Amanda entered the room and quietly got her attention, managing to avoid attracting the twins' attention as they were still speaking animatedly about the upcoming game. Natasha instantly caught on to Amanda's discretion and slowly followed the woman out into the hallway where she was led back out into the main reception.

"… But I don't understand," Natasha was unbearably distressed after hearing what Amanda had to say. "The last time we spoke you said his release was being discussed positively… that it could be a matter of weeks."

"Yes… well that was the direction we were going in…" Amanda looked apologetic, perhaps also pitiful towards the girl. "You are aware that your brother has occasional violent outbursts, yes? He has been improving steadily with you and your brother's visits… but after the incident two days ago the doctors seem to agree that it would be best to keep him under further supervision…"

"… Wait, what?"

"There was an incident during one of Matthew's weekly meetings with his psychiatrist…" Amanda shook her head. "The kinds of outbursts are rare and occur only when he's isolated which is why I pushed for his release hoping that he would recover better in familiar surroundings with his family but the doctors don't see it the same way."

"… What about my aunt? Has the doctors been in contact with her?"

"Natasha… I know what you're thinking but your aunt hasn't interfered."

"… I'll try to believe that," Natasha knew that Amanda didn't have control over these matters and it was likely that she would not even know but this situation had her aunt written all over it. Natasha contemplated on the likelihood of her aunt picking up the phone if she rung now but before she could decide Ben stepped out.

"Oh hey Amanda, I was just looking for you! We were wondering if it was possible to bring Matty to homecoming… what's wrong?"

"Oh nothing," Natasha realised what her expression must have looked like. "… I'm going to head on out first, say bye to Matt for me?"

"Yeah sure… hey are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she gave him a cheery smile before saying goodbye to Amanda and departing. She started scrolling through her contacts list as she made her way out of the building, her fingers paused as the cursor hovered over Aunt Cate's name. Taking a deep breath, she hit the dial button and anxiously waited as the line dialled.

Natasha stopped just outside next to her bike when the line finally went through.

"Hello Langford's residence, how may I help?"

"Hi, this is Natasha… Evans. Cate's niece?" she said rather stiffly, always hating the moments she had to ring her aunt up. "Would it be possible to speak to her?"

"I'm terribly sorry Miss Evans, the Madam is currently in France. Would you like to leave a message for her for when she returns?"

"… Just for her to ring me back please? Thank you."

It was so typical and Natasha supposed she should not have expected anything even after bucking up her courage to make contact. Knowing her aunt, it could be another week or two before she returned from whatever mini-vacation she was on and by then it would be much too late for homecoming and who knows what could happen in those short weeks.

.

.

.

"Miss Evans!"

"Yes? Sorry!"

"Wow, that actually worked…" Johnny's expression was halfway between shock and a smirk, he was leaning his face against his palm with his head tilted sideways so he could watch her instead of paying attention to the blackboard. Natasha snapped her attention to the front of the room and was surprised to find it empty. "Class ended about a minute ago… you alright?"

"Oh, yeah. A little spaced out today… clearly," she smiled but she still appeared rather faded, this Johnny caught on to immediately. "Come on, let's go grab some food."

Although Natasha pulled herself together briskly Johnny still continued to watch her knowing that she was far from fine. For starters she was blank the entire English class, they were reading from the novel today so there was not much to do but it was different this time. Even though Johnny has begun showing up to classes, he spent most of his time in class staring at the gorgeous girl sat beside him… he loved it especially in English during the classes they were reading; he wouldn't have to worry about being caught slacking and she would have this incredible look of concentration as she followed the words but there was none of that today.

He's never seen her so out of sorts and frankly it worried him.

"Hey doll-face."

"Yeah, what's up?" she glanced over her shoulder only just noticing that he was walking two paces behind her. "… Johnny?"

"… Could we have a moment before we meet up with everyone?"

"Oh uh… sure. Is here okay?" she glanced around, they were standing under the stairwell on the ground floor, close to the cafeteria but still mostly shielded from prying eyes. He nodded so she turned around to face him, she had a strange feeling about this as she watched him tuck his hands into his pockets. "What's the matter?"

"What's going on with you today?" he asked without warning, his words to the point but his tone soft. "… Is someone bothering you?"

"No, nothing like that…" she wondered how to best reply without being dishonest but she saw no way around it, cursing herself for not have revealed her family's situation to Johnny sooner and in a more desirable location. "… It's my brother."

"… The one in hospital?"

"Yeah… just some complications with his release and stuff, it's a bit of a long story," she tucked a strand of loose hair behind her ear as her eyes trailed away. "I've got this aunt you see… she's meant to have custody over us but she's… not very pleasant."

"Yeah… you've mentioned her. Is she keeping him away?"

"In a sense," she looked at him again hating that she has not been found the time to properly speak to him about her family's situation. "I… have a lot I want to say but… not here."

"I understand," he put his arm around her and pecked the crown of her head before pulling her into his chest. His gesture surprised her but she welcomed it as she hugged him back. "… Don't hate me for saying this but I'm just glad you're not upset because someone's been bothering you."

"… Well I promised you would be the first to know, right?" she smiled up at him brightly, her woes seemed to have vanished at least for now and Johnny was pleased to see her back to normal. He pecked her head again with a cheeky smile before trying again but this time aiming for her cheek, she laughed as she ducked out of his hold just narrowly missing his lips as she ran ahead into the cafeteria.

The cafeteria was boisterous with commotion, everyone seemed to be elevated for some reason, despite the rivalries between the cliques there seemed to be a sense of unity through the shared sentiment. Natasha tried to listen in but could only make out that people were talking about homecoming.

"You gonna be okay?" Johnny asked her sweetly as they made their way through the front of the room where they were sandwiched between the jocks' table and the preppies' table. Thankfully Ted hardly even spared them a glance as he spoke to his friends and it made her feel slightly better when she saw that her brother was uncharacteristically absent. On the other side Mandy sat with Pinky amongst the preps, both the girls eyed her as she and Johnny made their way through.

"Perfectly fine," she nodded back with a weak smile. There was the previous discussion she had with Johnny and she was internally struggling with deciding what and how she would reveal the whole Happy Volts situation without freaking him out too much, but also she wouldn't know what she would have done if she were in this position standing between two groups of people who probably loathe her without Johnny there to support her.

Johnny led her to the back of the room where the greasers had their own table. There were only four others there, and amongst them were Peanut and Ricky who gave her funny looks when her and Johnny sat opposite them. The others were Vance and Hal who she was not familiar with at all, she greeted them no differently than the previous two with a smile.

"What's got everyone so jumpy?" Johnny asked.

"Homecoming nominations"

"Ah, right," Johnny glanced at Natasha slightly, noticing her expression regress. "You reckon this may be your year Rick?"

"There's really not much hope for us common folk when you're our poster boy Johnny," Ricky responded sullenly immediately sending the table into a frenzy of laughter. Even Natasha smiled.

"Ahem, so I have some exciting announcements to make," Miss Danvers' voice blared on over the speakers. "Here are your nominees for homecoming king and queen. First we have the boys… Derby Harrington, Benjamin Evans and Johnny Vincent. Next up the girls, Pinky Gauthier, Christy Martin, Mandy Wiles. And last but not least we have the previous year's reigning king and queen, Ted Thompson and Natasha Evans. Good luck to all!"

Rounds of applauses echoed around the room, each clique clapped for their respective nominees but a good half of the nominated ones sat still and hardly smiled – mostly due to the last part of the announcement which pushed their comforts. Natasha held her breath after it ended and she waited a moment before she dared to take a peek at Johnny from the corner of her eyes, to her relief he did not look agitated as she expected him to be, in fact he seemed almost unaffected as he listened to his peers' congratulations. To her surprise he slowly turned to her and gave her a gentle smile which practically melted her.

"You two have definitely got this one," Peanut patted Johnny's shoulder. "Go for it, man."

"Yeah, I reckon we do," Johnny grinned at his friends, reaching for Natasha's hand under the table, pulling her little hand to his lap and squeezed it. "We're not about to lose out to a bunch of rich kids and roid-heads."

Still not entirely used to the greasers being so friendly with her, Natasha smiled back at them gingerly and nodded, looking between Johnny and rest of the boys as they conversed happily. It was perhaps the only time she has witnessed Johnny so pleasantly speaking to his friends and she found that it was an atmosphere she could surely get used to with time. She especially liked how open he was with his affections, he glanced at her every so often making sure she was still content but mostly it was how he held her hand under the table the entire time.

A loud crash echoed behind them all of a sudden and Johnny was first to act, throwing an arm around her protectively as he looked over his shoulder. The boys all stood up and moved forward as if to shield Johnny and her from whatever was going on behind them.

"What's happened?" Natasha asked, unable to see with Johnny's body in the way and he slowly loosened his hold on her and peered down at her small body pushed to his chest. "… Johnny what's happened?"

Natasha gently pried his arms out of the way and her heart fell still when she saw the scene before her. Across the room between the two cliques' tables, Bif had Ted by the collar against the wall, there were two jocks rushing towards Bif attempting to pull the boxer away but unfortunately Kirby and Dan's small sizes couldn't even so much as budge Bif.

"Someone get Damon!"

"Don't just watch, Luis!" Kirby shouted back at the table where Luis and Bo were still sat simply watching on for whatever odd reason. "Come help!"

On the prep's side they all looked more confused than anything with only Mandy giving any real reaction as she screamed for Pinky to make Bif stop, the cheerleader probably assumed that Bif would answer to her being cousins with Derby. But despite Mandy's cries Pinky, much like the other preps, could only watch in horror as they all must be wondering what on earth their lieutenant was doing. Derby seemed to be the only one who appeared uninterested, though there may be a hint of disgust painted on his features, and Natasha could swear that when he glanced over at her his expression looked near murderous. He blamed her… and she feared that he was likely correct to assume so when it was these specific two parties involved.

"The hell man! Why are you fighting for a girl who isn't even yours, you freaking idiot!" Ted shouted as he attempted to kick Bif off but to his dismay the boxer was far stronger and had a tight grip on him. "You're so pathetic it's hilarious, Taylor! She wasn't yours when I had her and now she's chosen that grease-trash over you again. When are you going to get it in your head!"

Natasha felt Johnny's arm jolt and she turned around just in time to see his jaw clench as he stood up in a fit of rage. "Johnny wait!"

She immediately lunged forward and grabbed his arm, effectively holding him back for the moment and she could feel all eyes fall on them all eagerly awaiting the next part of this horrendous development hoping to see more blood before the boys would be inevitably stopped. It sickened her that they would wish more pain and she refused to let Johnny be caught in this entire mess.

Natasha did not say a word. They were past the point of needing words but Natasha didn't dare look away from Johnny even when she heard Ted resuming to hurl insults at them. She looked him right in the eyes as she slowly reached for his other arm and held him, her gaze pleaded him not to do something unnecessary.

Johnny's arm finally relaxed and he swallowed as he brought his hands up to cup his face, as if he was physically trying to repress his anger then without warning he pulled her into his arms and just held her there as he breathed. Natasha froze when she heard him take a deep breath by her ear then slowly exhale, his entire body seemed to loosen and she rubbed his back to show her commendation.

Soon two prefects came rushing in and tore Bif away from Ted. At this point the quarterback was beat into a silent pulp and he appeared to have multiple bruises including a black eye. Although Ted was on the receiving end of the injuries, apparently for being the instigator of the fight he was also dragged away along with Bif to Crabblesnitch's office.

It was at this moment Natasha was glad she managed to keep Johnny out of the mess.

"God…" she heard Johnny murmur his breath as he seemed to have pulled himself together, he released her and watched as Ted and Bif were pulled out of the room before turning back to Natasha. "You alright, doll?"

"I'm fine… are you?"

"Yeah…" he sounded far from fine. "… What do you think that was about?"

"Let's just forget it, it doesn't involve us," she tried to get his attention again before he was lost to his temper. "Johnny… we're fine, remember?"

She hoped her words would get through to him and for a moment they seemed to be until the speakers squeaked again and Miss Danvers' voice appeared. "Natasha Evans come up to the principal's office immediately. Natasha Evans. That is all."

Once again all eyes seem to fall on them and she could only imagine how difficult it must have been for Johnny to control his temper when faced with such scrutiny. Worried that he may actually lose it this time she held his hand.

"Hey, it's going to be okay," she smiled up at him as she squeezed his hand. "I'll just pop over, see what they want and be right out."

"I'll come with-."

"No, I'll be fine… don't do anything dumb while I'm gone, alright?"

"I would never-."

"We'll watch him," Peanut stepped in between them, his smile understanding as he seemed to be prepared to face Johnny's wrath for interrupting them. "We'll probably be by the auto-shop."

"Alright, thanks Peanut. I'll see you guys later."

Natasha headed off just like that knowing that if she gave Johnny the opportunity he would protest and no doubt try to follow her. She made her way upstairs hastily, she has already kept Doctor Crabblesnitch waiting long enough and she knew if she took her time it would only be a matter of time another announcement was made, and the other students were already giving her odd looks so she didn't want to risk another reason for them to gawk at her.

Once she reached the reception Miss Danvers jumped out of her seat and immediately ushered her into the principal's office. The lady knocked thrice before the doctor's voice appeared from the inside and the door was opened for Natasha. Inside Bif and Ted were stood in front of Crabblesnitch's desk, Ted was glancing over his shoulder but looked away when their eyes met while Bif remained standing still with his arms behind his back. Before she had time to adjust to the situation Crabblesnitch spoke up.

"Ah, Miss Evans, thank you for joining us on such short notice…" Doctor Crabblesnitch waved her in with a smile. "Though from what I've gathered you were quite close to the event concerning Mr. Taylor and Mr. Thompson."

"Doctor Crabblesnitch, I already said this was an issue between the Thompson and I. There was no need to call Natasha-."

"Enough Mr. Taylor, quiet or the three of you will face suspension."

Natasha gulped as she stopped beside Bif. The tall redhead had not looked at her once since she walked in and she could only try to guess the reason for it but despite everything she was somewhat glad that his frame blocked Ted from her vision, and vice-versa.

"Now Miss Evans, could you tell me what happened?"

"… I-I don't know what to say, sir," she cursed herself for choking on her words. She didn't do anything wrong for crying out loud! ". I was on the other side of the room when… the commotion began. I don't understand why you have called me…"

"Yes well, Mr. Thompson here claims that the blame is yours-."

"That's a lie," Bif interjected. "My issue was with Thompson alone-."

"Well what was your issue with Mr. Thompson then Mr. Taylor?" Doctor Crabblesnitch turned to the boy sceptically and when Bif didn't respond he turned to Natasha with a deep sigh. "This is precisely the reason why I've called you here Miss Evans. The two lads say different things but neither want to elaborate which puts you in the middle. We have been going around in circles and I would really just like to get to the bottom of things."

"… Like I said sir, I don't know what happened…" Natasha blinked and she began to feel uneasy under the man's gaze. It was obvious whatever Ted had said to Bif must have set him off and it was likely something related to her but she was hardly the culprit behind their fight. But what did Crabblesnitch expect her to say? "… I concede that I may have been mentioned in their argument but-."

"You were mentioned by name?"

"… Well not by my name precisely-."

"Then how did you know it was about you?"

Oh why, oh why was she in this damned situation?

Natasha could just about kick herself for saying more than she had to.

"Well Miss Evans?"

"Uh…"

"I have…" Bif suddenly spoke up, drawing everyone's attention to him. "A history with Natasha… and she has a history with Thompson… he said some things about her that upset me so I responded violently which I shouldn't have. So please don't blame Natasha, she has no role in this mess."

"I see…" Doctor Crabblesnitch sat back and folded his arms, pleased that they were finally getting somewhere. "Mr Thompson, if I may ask what did you say in regards to Miss Evans?"

This Natasha wanted to hear. She leaned forward so that she could see his face and she swore she has never seen him looking so pale before, from the corner of her eyes she saw Bif look at her momentarily before turning back around. He didn't look half as pleased as she felt.

"I… called her disloyal."

Natasha felt ready to just about smack him.

"Amongst other profanities I imagine," Doctor Crabblesnitch sighed. "So it's turned out to be a love squabble… rather disappointing… you may leave now Miss Evans."

"Yes sir…" Natasha bowed her head and walked towards the door but not before she gave Bif a look. Even with everything that has happened between them he still came to her defence and that counted for something in her books.

Outside the office Mr. Burton was at Miss Danvers' desk frantically shouting at the woman. Natasha was surprised that they weren't able to hear him inside.

"You!" he turned his attention to Natasha as soon as she came out. Natasha went rigid as the man approached her and pointed a finger at her aggressively. "You are not getting my star quarterback suspended, you hear!?"

He then moved past her and stormed into Crabblesnitch's office leaving Natasha standing there with her eyes wide with shock and hardly able to breathe after the horrifying encounter.

"Miss…- Natasha, are you alright, dear?" Miss Danvers asked her as she gently patted the younger girl's shoulder. "That man is a brute… I will have a word with the doctor about this…"

Honestly Natasha wanted nothing more than to curl up in her bed, preferably with her guy, and maybe cry a spell and she knew that if she didn't move soon she probably would start crying. She thanked the woman for her sloppy sentiments and headed back to the dorm, deciding that going to the auto-shop would be a bad idea for her when she was in such a state and she would just send Johnny a message when she got back.

But the last thing she expected was for Johnny to be waiting for her outside the main building, she didn't even notice while she was trying to hide her face until she nearly ran into him and he grabbed her shoulders which shocked her into looking straight at him with her teary eyes.

"Who did this to you?" he growled. "Who made you cry? Was it Thompson? Taylor? Crabblesnitch?"

"No, i-it was… I don't want to talk here," she was on the verge of breaking down. "I'll tell you everything but please, just not here…"

.

.

* * *

.

.

 **So I got two reviews recently that brought my attention back to this story.**

 **One guest was really sweet and I'm so glad you're enjoying it, this chapter is for you.**

 **The other guest was rude and immature, this chapter is also for you lmao**

 **\- we're in 2018 sweetie, grow up!**

 **Thanks to everyone still reading and enjoying it as much as I'm writing it.**

.

.


	8. eight

.

 **.**

 **Look Alive, Sunshine**

 _ **eight**_

 **.**

.

* * *

.

 **.**

.

Almost three hours have passed since Natasha snuck Johnny into her room. It took one hour to fully explain her situation at home, from the car crash she felt guilty for, Matt in Happy Volts to her irresponsible extended family. The talk about the car crash and Matt alone already took a lot out of her and she apologised profusely for lying to him about the entire Happy Volts situation, thankfully Johnny was more concerned for her anxiety and was sympathetic to her loss. Next she had to tell him all about what happened earlier in the cafeteria, about Mr. Burton which then led to her revealing her rather colourful history regarding Bif.

The conversation did end up with her in tears and she hated to think that it was the reason he remained amiable with everything she disclosed, some which were lies and other things she knew he would usually not take kindly to. She voiced her doubts but he insisted it was nothing of the sort and that he was only genuinely concerned for her at the moment.

"But I can understand why you were bothered," Johnny sighed as he pulled his jacket off and placed it by his side, he leaned back against her pillows again and folded his arms. "Happy Volts is a bad place to be… especially being a patient there."

"Well the block Matt's in isn't so bad," she shifted to her side, eyes trailing away from him knowing that this was a sensitive topic. "It's more like a hospital wing… far from a cell… but I do worry they'll throw him into a real one."

"Right… and you think your aunt's been meddling."

"I think it's very likely."

"… Want me to bust him out?"

"Oh please," she cracked a smile. "You can't even talk about the place without going pale, I'd love to see you try."

"I would try if it would make you happy."

There were times when he said things like this to her, sometimes it would be giving her lifts, or buying her things or even beating people up on her behalf. Although it may seem like a joke she knew that he was quite serious and if she asked he probably would do these things for her sake. Johnny really was too sweet for his own good, she could see how he could have been taken advantage of by someone he was infatuated with.

"I appreciate your offer but it'll probably do more harm than good," she nudged his leg with a smile. "… Come on then, shall we grab some food?"

"Sounds good… oh wait," he called out to her when she climbed off the bed. "You've got panda eyes."

"Oh no, really?" she instantly hid behind her fingers as she fumbled around her dresser for her little bag containing her toiletries. "Okay I'm just going to freshen up a bit."

"Go for it."

Natasha shut the door behind her and hurried into the bathroom. A gasp escaped her when she saw her reflection, panda eyes was definitely far from exaggeration, she had mascara running down her eyes which made her look dreadful if not quite terrifying with her pale skin; she was surprised Johnny didn't say anything sooner.

After washing her face and ridding her eyes of black smudges Natasha pulled out her eyeliner and began to reapply some light makeup. When she was finished with the left eye she went to do the next, and that was when she heard a strange noise from the toilet stalls. It sounded like gargling followed by some quiet coughing… it was a sound Natasha had grown familiar with over the times where she found Mandy being sick, it was severe when they first met and it was never pleasant when she found her then friend hiding in a stall, and she hated the thought that someone else was unwell as well.

The noises still hadn't stopped when Natasha was done with her bag packed up again. She knew it was probably better to mind her own business but she was undeniably concerned for whoever was behind the door, it could be any of the girls, hopefully not one of the little ones… or even Pinky who has been staying in their dorm.

"… Hey…" Natasha knocked on the locked door gently. "Are you alright in there?"

The coughing ceased immediately and a prominent gasp could be heard behind the door. Natasha knocked again when she heard the toilet seat close and the sound of flushing, again she asked but no response came.

"…Take care then."

Unsure of what else she could do or say Natasha simply left.

She found Johnny lounging on her bed with one of her notebooks open in hand, he glanced to her as she came in but made no movements to hide the fact that he was snooping through her things.

"What are you doing?"

"I was hoping to find something interesting," he waved the notebook. "Thought maybe I would come across a secret diary or something."

"Such a thing doesn't exist," she laughed plucking the book out of his hand. "Despite all the rumours I'm afraid I'm rather boring. I'm surprised you haven't already figured that out going through my lab notes."

"Don't say that," he grinned. "I'm sure you have something saucy hidden away somewhere."

"Doesn't exist," she tapped his head with the book. "Let's go, I'm in the mood for something unhealthy."

.

.

They ended up at the pizzeria in town, she has been before a few times as it was a usual hangout for the football team after practice but she only just realised that it was not far from where Johnny lived. He mentioned that he used to come a lot when his parents were still around, there was a hollow ring to his words and Natasha knew not to pry further; it was rare for him to bring up anything about his past at all by himself and she wondered if him bringing her here was an effort to share a little of his world with her.

The food was delicious and indeed unhealthy like she requested. It came as a surprise to her when she first found out that apparently Johnny did not eat much so they settled for sharing a pizza between them, from her experience most of the guys she's been around ate obscene amounts; but then again these were guys bulking up on coach's orders.

"Oh no," Natasha whispered under her breath when she noticed the group that just walked in. It was a small group of jocks, she had been worried that Ted may be with them but once they all appeared she was thankful to see that he wasn't around, but the group being led by Damon wasn't far off. Oh why, oh why was her brother never around when she actually needed him?

"… Ignore em'," Johnny glanced over as the jocks walked by, giving them a look that looked neither hostile nor friendly, in fact Johnny looked almost unaffected by their presence which was odd. "Shall we head out?"

"Sure," she reached for her wallet as Johnny paged for their bill while reaching into his inner pocket.

"I've got it," Johnny waved her hand away when she tried to hand him her portion, and when the waiter came along with the bill the poor guy struggled between handing it over when both Johnny and Natasha grabbed for it. "I got you covered, doll. Let me."

"Then pay first by all means but take my money after…-" she frowned when she felt the phone in her pocket vibrate, and taking advantage of the moment she was distracted Johnny placed his money on the tray and sent the waiter away. Natasha groaned as she watched the waiter walk off and she gave Johnny a look before turning back to her phone. "I've got to take this… find me outside?"

"Yeah go for it," Johnny scooted his chair over to give her more room and watched as she made her way to the doors, he paid particular attention when she walked close to Damon and Juri who were by the soda machines. Natasha paid them no mind and it seemed they weren't interested in picking a fight with her either and simply let her pass. Once she was safely outside Johnny relaxed and waited for the waiter to return with his change.

Then that was when Damon decided he would stop by Johnny's table.

"Well wasn't that a cute sight?" he jibed. "Johnny Vincent and little Natasha having a lovers spat over the dinner money. You her bitch, Vincent?"

Johnny turned his head away. He had no interest in humouring the jock and if possible he wanted to keep the rest of this night clean wanting to only spend it with his girl.

"You know I never saw the appeal in that girl every other guy would whip their dicks out for…" Damon continued when he realised it wasn't going to be so easy to rile up Johnny this time around. "But Lola… now there's a girl that's worth all the trouble… someone you were right to be crazy about… and how does it feel knowing she's been warming my bed-."

That did it. Damn, that always did it.

Johnny jumped out of his chair abruptly and grabbed the jock by the collar, shoving him backwards a few paces before Damon retaliated and did the same.

"Go on, hit me then. You can join Taylor in suspension," Damon grinned as he landed a punch, Johnny groaned when he felt another blow against his ribs; say what you will about Damon but the jock's large frame was not just for sure, his strength was real and Johnny knew he was at a serious disadvantage if he wanted to end this fight without throwing a punch back and risk suspension. It was known that the jock lieutenant was third behind only Russell and Bif, and speaking of the prep, Johnny wouldn't actually mind if the one already in suspension came around and decided to help finish the war he practically started. "Not so tough without your little leather pricks-?"

"That's enough," an arm came between them and Johnny was shocked to see that it was Luis, but perhaps it should not have been that much of a surprise considering he had stayed quiet during the cafeteria fight. "Damon, hit him anymore and they will suspend _you_."

"Why do you think I've been avoiding his face?" Damon growled back, not appreciating his own lackeys getting in the way. "Stay out of this."

"If you really thought this through then you wouldn't have started a fight in public with witnesses," Luis waved his arm around the pizzeria. It suddenly hit Damon and he glanced around and saw that everyone in the restaurant had their eyes on him, the few odd students and the adults who some looked horrified. "He hasn't hit you back once and we're in the middle of town, you'll be lucky if they don't get the police involved-."

"Oh, fuck it! I get it!"

Damon released Johnny, quite literally almost throwing him aside as he shoved past Luis and headed back to their table. Johnny got back up to his feet with an exasperated sigh and straightened his jacket out before turning to Luis, not really sure what to make of the jock who had just certainly rescued him from a bad beating.

"I didn't do it for you, Johnny Vincent," Luis said as if he read the greaser's mind. "Just know that not all of us are blind to Ted's rule. Natasha's a good girl, her brothers are decent guys. It's not right, how they're treating her… treating them."

Johnny did not reply. Luis and he exchanged a silent look before the jock returned back to his group leaving Johnny behind to contemplate on their exchange and to assess the damage done to his ribs.

Then the waiter finally arrived with the damned change.

.

 **.**

.

Natasha adored Johnny and his friends but what she couldn't stand was standing around in the auto-shop for hours. At first it was rather exciting learning her way around and watching the boys at work, she was all smiles when Ricky introduced his 'baby', a shiny bicycle, to her and she was happy to listen to him ramble on about components and fine-tuning… but two hours of it may be too much for her to handle.

It wasn't exactly the ideal environment for her to study or read either, and when she told Johnny that she needed to get back to the dorm and get some work done he appeared to have no qualms and said that he would contact her later.

As she reached the fountain she saw that a group of preps were heading out of Harrington House just opposite her, and of course it was none other than Derby at the head sparing her not a glance as he walked right by and his lieutenant was following not far behind.

Natasha froze on the spot, she's been meaning to speak to Bif about the incident with Ted but she hasn't had the opportunity to; in fact, she has hardly seen him around since his suspension. The crowd was intimidating but she knew if she didn't speak to him now she may not have the chance to any time soon.

"… Hey, um- Bif!"

The group instantly stopped moving and Bif glanced backwards at her, his expression unchanged and waiting for her to continue. Natasha took a step forward as she opened her mouth to speak but then from the corner of her eye she noticed the blond boy standing behind Bif, the look on Derby's face forced her to come to a halt and she began to think maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. With every thought to pull back and maybe try again some another time, Natasha retracted her step and was about to apologise for taking up his time when Bif turned around and stepped past Justin and Gord.

"What is it?"

"… Could I have a word with you, please?" she said quietly, hopefully enough so that perhaps Derby would not hear. "Alone."

His stare was hard but thankfully after a moment he nodded and sent his friends ahead, he then asked where would be appropriate and she confessed she didn't know a single place on campus where they wouldn't be seen and become a topic of gossip.

"… What about Harrington House then?" he asked, tucking a hand into his pocket and turning back to the building he just came out of. "It just so happens to be empty at the moment."

"… Yeah sure," she nodded and began following him. They walked in silence, he hardly looked at her when he held the door open for her and proceeded on inside where he led her up the stairs and then through a maze of corridors into what she assumed was the common room. A room filled with plush velvet chairs and a burnt out hearth that she wouldn't think abided with regulations.

"… Thanks for agreeing to speak to me…" she said quietly as she sat on a sofa. "I… heard."

"What did you hear?" he asked as he sat opposite her on an armchair.

"About your suspension…" she was finding it excruciatingly difficult to maintain eye contact with his striking green gaze. "How long is it?"

"One week plus the dance," he shrugged. "Not that it really matters to me."

"That's terrible, they've let people off for worse before-."

"Beating the star quarterback a week before the big game has its consequences," Bif sighed as he finally looked away, his composure breaking slightly as he rubbed the bridge of his sharp nose. "… Even my family couldn't do anything."

For a while he looked like the Bif Taylor she knew as a child, perhaps a little worn on the edges and certainly a lot beefier, but the same boyish frailty was there.

The suspension was probably met with harsh response from his friends and especially his family, she knew better than to ask as he probably regretted his actions the moment he caught a hold of himself. Like all the Old Bullworth families the Taylor family had money but they weren't particularly affluent in the way the other families were, what his family had his father worked for every bit of it and there were expectations for their only son. Suspension and scrutiny by their peers was not something that would be tolerated.

They sat in silence for a few moments, it was quiet as neither really knew what to say to another but despite so it didn't feel particularly awkward or unsettling. Natasha had her own thoughts racing through her mind, questions that she knew may upset him so she pushed to the back of her mind and some questions that she felt would wound up hurting herself but they needed to be answered.

"… Bif, can you tell me what happened…?" Natasha asked and her question obviously discomfited him as he sat up and cleared his throat. "What did Ted say to you?"

"You don't need to know," he looked her in the eye again. "You don't want to know, trust me."

"Please, I'd like to know. Ted has been… difficult these past weeks with his lies and slander," she paused. "But nonetheless I want to know what he's been saying… and I feel I am past the point where any of his words would affect me."

"… They were having a chat while I was walking by, I didn't hear a lot of it but it was about you… you and Johnny Vincent," Bif looked away. "Right after I walked by their table Thompson called after me, he called you a desperate slut and asked if I was glad I didn't become your next victim."

"… Then you hit him."

"No, I then asked him if he felt pathetic being the one cast aside by the slut."

A jab tore at her chest.

It hurt for sure, to hear those words come from anyone's mouth much less Bif's. He had been speaking so gently that she had forgotten that she has fallen far from his graces and that his opinion of her was probably low-lying.

"And then?"

"… Something along the lines of at least he _managed_ to get my precious little slut to fuck him. I don't remember the rest well," Bif cocked his head to one side as he soaked up her dark expression, she looked absolutely crushed and somewhere deep down inside he was glad that he kept to himself the colourful language Ted had used … and what he had said about being able to fuck the one girl he's always wanted. Saying such things will only make things confusing between them and the last thing Bif wanted was to complicate their relationship further. "… You sure know how to pick them."

"… A mistake clearly."

"And how's your current mistake going?"

"Bif," she frowned. "I'm not here to talk about that."

"As long as you're still dating imbeciles I will speak about it," he offered her a short look of disdain before glancing away again. "Is that all?"

"I…" she got up as he stood, her resolve looked to waver for a second before she looked him directly, her blue eyes bored into his green ones as she seemed to be deciding on which words to use. "I suppose I wanted to thank you as well. For getting angry on my behalf… and attempting to protect me from Crabblesnitch… so, thank you Bif."

"I didn't get angry on your behalf," he corrected her. "I had my own reasons."

"… Right," she forced a tight-lipped smile. "I'll show myself out."

"Do you remember the way?"

"… Yes, I'll be fine."

Bif was doubtful but he let her go anyway. Over the years he's known her he's figured out how to tell the differences between the slight changes in her expressions or even in the tone of her voice, and sure enough in about five minutes she returned to the common room asking if he would be as kind as to show her the way.

"I don't understand, it doesn't look this big from the outside," Natasha murmured as they walked along the hallway. "All Harrington buildings are the same…"

"Well you know what they say about the Harringtons, the secret behind their fortune is more likely dark magic than adherence."

"… Yes, that's right," Natasha smiled slightly, those were hardly the words she expected to hear from him. "… You won't be going home?"

"Excuse me?" he slowed his pace as he turned to face her.

"For your suspension, I mean…"

"No, I've been given permission to stay living on campus," he looked ahead again. "But no classes and I've been warned to stay away from the gym and fields."

"… That is unspeakably unfair… I am sorry…" Natasha held her breath when he stopped walking, it began to get startling when he turned around and walked her up against a wall. "U-Um, Bif?"

"Why does it matter to you?"

"I was only curious," Natasha peered up at him, afraid of what she might have done to upset him. "I'm sorry if I said something I wasn't supposed to-."

"For your sake, don't be so kind to me if you don't mean it. Like I said I had my own reasons," his expression was dark but she could hear the hesitation in his voice. "Come on, let's go."

Natasha followed him, this time holding back on her steps so that she remained two paces behind him. The moment she thought she was getting through to him and perhaps they may be able to start being friendly with each other again he had to say something to break that small glimmer of hope. She was curious and asked out of genuine concern, she wasn't expecting anything back from him and despite what he may say he did get upset and protect her with Ted and in Crabblesnitch's office. The enigma that is Bif Taylor continued to baffle her.

Once they reached the stairs she thought Bif would just leave her but it turned out he was heading out to find his friends. The now uncomfortable silence resumed as they made their way out of Harrington House and through the archway.

Natasha followed Bif's gaze across the fountain towards the auto shop and her jaw tightened when she saw Lola and in her arm who appeared to be Johnny, the brunette had Johnny's arm in her clutch as she looked to be stepping towards him while inching her face up to his. Natasha hadn't even realised she stopped breathing until Johnny shoved the girl off and Natasha finally exhaled heavily, the tension left her body entirely and without a hint of doubt she marched over.

"… Natasha, wait-."

"I can handle this on my own, Bif," she was surprised to see him following her. "I'll be fine-."

"Just wait a moment-!" he took her by the wrist and pulled her to a stop. It didn't hurt… much, but she was pissed off; she has had it with guys who had no business touching her grabbing her as if she was a ragdoll. "Let Johnny handle it, don't get yourself involved unnecessarily."

"And _you_ shouldn't involve yourself unnecessarily," she spat, the thought of amiability quickly forgotten. "Let go of me… I said let go!"

"Natasha?" Johnny's voice came. "Taylor?!"

In no time was Johnny by her side yanking Bif's hand away, for how anxious he seemed to be only moments ago Bif back down surprisingly easily but his face was pale as a sheet. Johnny began to goad the prep but Bif looked as if the words weren't even registering him as he looked beyond the greaser… at Lola who had the widest smirk plastered on her face.

"Well, hello there handsome," Lola called to him. "How have you been holding up since we last saw each other?"

That self-satisfaction in her voice and Bif's pale face, Natasha didn't want to consider it but when Johnny glanced back at his ex, his expression dark and knowing, and turned back to the prep Natasha knew there was no denying the unsaid truth. Johnny stepped aside realising there was something much larger going on than their usual squabbles, he eyed Natasha as Lola walked towards them, his expression was unreadable but he looked keen to let this situation unfold on its own.

"What's the matter, cat got your tongue?" Lola reached her hand out to his face. "You were far more vocal that time-."

"Don't touch me, whore," Bif took a step back and avoided her hand.

"Well is that anyway to speak to me?" Lola huffed. "Don't forget that I'm the nice girl who _took care_ of you when you were hung up over this bitch."

Bif did not respond.

Johnny watched.

Natasha's fists were shaking.

And Lola laughed.

"You act like such a good girl but I know you hate me," Lola's sneer was near feral when she turned to Natasha and placed a hand on the smaller redhead's shoulder and leaned down to her ear. "Feels bad right? Having one of your little toys taken by me…? Poor Bif, you won't give him the time of day but love keeping him stringed along, huh?"

"… You are…" Natasha knocked her hand away and took a deep breath, her knuckles going numb she was gripping so hard. "A horrible person."

"A horrible person?" Lola repeated, her laughter bubbling. "And how does it feel finding out you're just as bad?"

"I'm not like you, I don't take pleasure in hurting or using people," Natasha was slowly beginning to lose her temper. "I didn't ask for any of this to happen-."

"Yeah, we're nothing alike! So why didn't you just stick with your football players…? Or your rich boys? And left things as they were when they still made sense!"

"… You still want Johnny," Natasha stated, her anger waning when she realised that the reason Lola did any of this was because she still believed that Johnny would have taken her back if Natasha hadn't come into the picture.

"What?"

"You still want him, you hurt Bif to hurt me but you did all this-."

Natasha felt the air get knocked out of her and she barely managed a scream when Lola tackled her to the ground, she hit her head and she swore the backside of it may have cracked. There was ringing in her ears and her vision were mostly blurs, as she tried to get a hold of herself she made out someone hauling Lola off her and another help sit her up. The movement disorientated her and she cradled her head as she rested against the person by her side.

"You shouldn't have moved her," Johnny shouted. "Keep her steady!"

"And you should keep that ex of yours under control-."

"Oh fuck off Taylor," Lola hissed as she tried to writhe out of Johnny's strong clutches. "Fuck that bitch too! What is wrong with you idiots?!"

"Speak to her, is she conscious?"

"Nat?" Bif's voice came by her ear. "Nat, are you okay? Can you hear me?"

"My head…" she slowly reached behind and felt the back of her head. "It's still there… not open?"

"What…? No, your head looks fine, does it hurt?"

"It's pounding," Natasha winced as she tried to push herself up. "… Johnny?"

"Here, doll."

Natasha turned her attention to his voice.

"You alright?"

She nodded and with Bif's help she managed to get back on her feet. It took another moment to get her bearings and when she did she quietly thanked Bif. Through all that Lola was still shouting insults and attempting to shake off Johnny's hold, it was obvious he was concerned for Natasha but there wasn't anyone else that could keep Lola in place.

"Would you please calm yourself?" Johnny roared, shaking the girl in his arms. "Haven't you done enough?!"

"Far from enough," Lola hissed back.

"You crazy slut-."

Johnny's eyes widened as he watched the little redhead stomp over and throw a punch at Lola, she hit so hard that even he felt it having to take a step back. Then she hit again and again.

.

.

"Now a cat fight?"

Doctor Crabblesnitch was not pleased.

When Natasha came to her senses her and Lola were being carted off to Crabblesnitch's office. The prefects only took them leaving Johnny and Bif following attempting to dissuade them but their words were met by uninterested ears and they could only wait when the girls were brought inside.

"Interesting how all problems seem to always stem back to you Miss Evans."

Lola snorted with a cross of her arms.

"Do you find this funny Miss Lombardi? Do realise how serious your actions were?" Crabblesnitch turned to her furiously. "This is no laughing matter. If Miss Evans lost conscious she would be hospitalised… if she were not to wake, you would be arrested… you could have killed her!"

"…I-I'm sorry," Lola eyed the redhead. "Look I wasn't trying to kill you or anything."

"Luckily you didn't," he then turned to Natasha. "And then you retaliated violently…"

"She deserved it."

"Yes but you've still broken rules," he sighed. "It will be suspension for Miss Evans and expulsion for Miss Lombardi."

"Expulsion?!" Lola cried. "You're expelling me? She hit me more than I hit her!"

"Yes well, perhaps you should have reconsidered attacking Miss Evans whose losses have been unparalleled-."

"So her parents die and she gets a free card?"

"Watch your mouth, girl," Doctor Crabblesnitch stood up. "Show some respect for the dead."

"… You and her dead family can kiss my ass."

"Get out! Your expulsion is effective immediately and you have the rest of the day to move your belongings."

"Gladly."

The brunette slammed the doors behind her.

"… What are my suspension terms?"

"One week and the homecoming dance."

"Right…" Natasha nodded. "I understand, and again I want to apologise for my behaviour. I was provoked and it was very unlike me."

"Indeed it was quite out of character for you, Miss Evans…" Crabblesnitch looked thoughtful. "Perhaps… the decision was made too hastily and suspension is a heavy sentence… after all you simply defended yourself from Miss Lombardi… it's not unheard of for a girl of _her_ background to lash out and involve innocents."

"… A girl of her background, sir?"

"I only meant someone like her had no business picking fights with a child from a Vale family," he cleared his throat. "I tried doing all I can for Mr. Taylor but my hands were tied right before the big game…"

"… Sir."

"Yes?"

"So you're saying you would overlook my actions and drop the suspension?"

"That is exactly what I'm saying."

"… No that won't be necessary. I'll take the suspension."

"And you are certain?"

"Yes, thank you sir."

The look on Crabblesnitch's face was enough for her to know that she made the right choice on this matter. She bowed her head politely and left. It sickened to learn of the obvious favouritism rumours were actually true, she felt embarrassed all the times she told Johnny that she wasn't treated any different, that she wasn't a part of the preps and it made no sense for them to give her special treatment.

Outside Johnny and Bif were sat by the row of chairs by reception, they were talking up until Natasha came out and they looked to be cordial. Johnny stood up first when she stood before them, he hugged her and asked what happened, she explained the situation and told him about the suspension.

"I'm sorry… I know we had plans for the dance but it didn't feel right."

"Don't worry about me… you're alright? Does it still hurt?" he gently held her head, his thumb brushing over her cheek as his hand slid back to feel the bump. She winced at his touch and he pulled away immediately. "I'm sorry… do you need to go to the hospital?"

"… No I think I'll be okay," she shook her head with a smile and he kissed her cheek before stepping aside.

"I think you two should talk. I'll wait for you by the car."

She was speechless as she watched Johnny walk back to Bif, they said a few quiet words to each other before Johnny patted his shoulder in a strange comradely sort of way and left them. Bif did not immediately turn his attention to her, he seemed to be contemplating for a few moments before he finally looked at her.

"… I was just telling Johnny about how we knew each other," Bif stood up and led them out of the reception where Miss Danvers was still sat close by watching them. They paused on top of the stairs where Bif struggled to decide which way to go. "… I was surprised you've spoken to him about me."

"Well just the one time after the… incident on the beach."

"Right, of course," he began down the stairs. "I am sorry about that."

"Bit late," she meant no ill will she simply stated the obvious. "… I was surprised to find you two speaking."

"He asked about… Lola."

"And?"

"He too has suffered at the hands of that girl, he asked out of concern," he said slowly. "… I didn't expect that from him."

"… You've been fighting Johnny all this time under Derby's orders but you didn't even know him," Natasha sighed. "… So? What happened between you and her?"

"…"

"Did you… sleep with her?"

"No, never," he replied firmly. "You're aware she's been living at Harrington House with Gord, yes?"

"I've heard all sorts of things," she shrugged back as they left the building doors. "I can't decide myself what's the truth."

"Well she'd made herself quite at home there… one day she barged into my room while I was… indisposed," he said quietly. "She'd been sneaking around in the middle night, who knows what she had been up to… but then she caught me at a vulnerable moment and I let her... well you know. But as soon as it was over I knew it was a terrible mistake and I made it quite clear to her it meant nothing and that she'd better keep it to herself. I was surprised she did but I supposed Gord finding out was the last thing she wanted…"

"What did you mean by vulnerable moment?"

"Don't worry about that."

They came to a stop near the dorms.

"Guess she had her own reasons for keeping quiet until now…" Bif sighed. "Anyway you should get going, he's waiting for you."

"... I'll see you around then."

"Yeah… I guess so."

 **.**

.

* * *

.

 **.**

I live for drama

 **.**

.


	9. nine

.

 **.**

 **Look Alive, Sunshine**

 _ **nine**_

 **.**

.

* * *

.

 **.**

.

The Bullworth Bullhorns did it yet again. After an intense game the Bulls took the homecoming game making it the second consecutive year. While she had been barred from entering classrooms and taking part in the homecoming dance tomorrow night, the game itself was still open to all including the public, alumni and even students currently in suspension. Plus despite all her past grumbling about the sport, she actually quite enjoyed watching football, or at least watching her brothers play, and with Matt's blessing she was out cheering for Ben.

Once the game ended the celebrations took off. From top of the bleachers she watched the team come together with a roar of laughter and tears, even she had to admit it was a warming sight and it reminded her of all the times she had been down there herself hugging her brothers. She caught sight of Ben who was speaking with Luis and Bo animatedly, when he noticed her he waved his arms with a hearty smile. She nodded back with an embarrassed smile and pointed a thumbs up as he made his way to her.

"Hey," he pulled her into a hug. "What'd you think? We did pretty good, huh?"

"It was close but you really pulled through."

"Yes, _thank_ you," he sighed, rubbing his brow bone with a lopsided grin. "I totally caught their RB out towards the end. Sure gave Ted all the time he needed to think of his crappy plays…"

"He did call some bad plays," she agreed with a snort. "Defence really had to stick up for him, huh?"

"For sure…" he seemed to have lost his vigour. "It would have been so different with Matty here…"

"Yeah," she would be lying if she said she wasn't expecting that. All she could do was give him a kind smile and rub his back. "You know he'd be thrilled to hear you've won though."

"Yeah but…"

It was something they were meant to share.

She could finish that sentence for him.

"… Well then," he brushed off the moment before standing up. The rest of the team was coming up now and she supposed he didn't want to be seen moping about. "I'm going to get changed for the party… what are you up to by the way?"

"I have plans with Johnny," she reached for her phone. "He should be here soon…"

"Oh, have fun then," Ben patted her head before joining his friends who gave her pleasant greetings as they walked by. "Oh, and Nat?"

"Hm?" she glanced up from her phone and saw Ben still hanging back.

"Don't let it get to you."

"What?"

Ben pressed his lips into a fine line as he tilted his head forward slightly, in the direction behind her and she slowly glanced over her shoulder where she found Ted at the bottom of the stairs, with him was his parents and Mandy was in his arm. The girl looked absolutely exultant as she grinned and nodded at everything Ted said; despite her differences with Mandy, Natasha felt almost sick knowing that anyone was suffering Ted's ill treatment.

"I think I'll wait for Johnny by the gate."," she replied surely as she turned back around when they were starting to come up. She stood up too and joined her brother. "How long?"

"Just yesterday."

"…" Natasha glanced backwards again one last time, taking a quick look at the couple, her eyes lingering over Mandy's frail looking frame. "Christ."

"Huh?"

"No, nothing," she shook her head when they reached the gym. "I'll see you later then."

"Yup, see you tomorrow."

Natasha headed on briskly. She texted Johnny as she walked, there was still quite a crowd from the game and she found herself stuck behind a particularly slow family. Instead of a response message Johnny rung her up.

"Hey, there's a huge crowd. I couldn't get my car anywhere near. I'm walking over now."

"That's fine I'll wait for you at the gate."

"I'll be there in about five minutes?"

"Sounds good, see you then doll."

Johnny was not where he said he would be… but then again she could hardly tell with how many people were around. She went on her tiptoes to look over the crowd and it was only when she got to the front that she saw Johnny waving at her from across the road, she assumed he wasn't able to park close to the gate with the ridiculous number of people pouring out of the grounds.

"Hey, doll," Johnny put an arm around her neck and pulled her close for a brief kiss on the head. "… How was the game…? I heard it was a close one…"

"Well we won," she smiled at his efforts for trying. "Ben's happy."

"Did you enjoy yourself?"

"Well I'm better now that you're here," she said without thinking and she instantly regretted it when she saw his cheesy smile and he asked if he really meant that much to her. "… You know you do."

"Doesn't hurt to hear it once in a while," he shrugged. "So where are we off to?"

"I'm thinking we should grab some dinner and go for a drive," she hopped into the passenger seat. "… Maybe avoiding the beach."

"The party?"

"You know about that?"

"It's the same place every year, Natasha," he scoffed with a cheeky smirk. "I was around last year as well."

"Were you?" she raised an eyebrow. "I was there and I-."

"Was wasted?"

"… Yeah, a bit," she turned away. "I mean I saw a couple of the greasers but I didn't know you were there."

"What can I say, we do love cheerleaders," Johnny chuckled. "I reckon most of the guys will be there tonight as well."

"With everyone on edge it's just a recipe for disaster," she shook her head with a hint of a smile. "Not that all you boys weren't prone to starting fights all on your own."

.

.

After a long drive through town enjoying the cool breeze and the chattering tunes on the radio, Johnny pulled up at the drive-through and ordered two sets of greasy food for them to share. With their paper bags filled with takeaway, Johnny decided the lookout would be a nice spot for them to have their food and simply enjoy each other's company away from everyone else. They drove by the coast on the way and it was already clear that the students of Bullworth Academy and other teenagers from the town had already taken over the beach for a night of antics.

Natasha then felt her phone buzzing in her pocket, she picked it out and ignored the call when she did not recognise the number. She was about to tuck the phone back into her pocket when it rang again, seeing as it was the same number she once again ignored the call.

"What's going on?" she heard Johnny ask.

"I'm not sure, someone keeps trying to call me," she stared at her phone as it sprang to life again. "Could we stop for a bit? I'll try taking this."

"Yeah, of course."

Johnny pulled up to the pavement and parked in a quiet corner in the Vale Gardens. She thanked him quickly before hitting the green button.

"Who is this?"

" _Who is this?_ " that dreadful voice appeared by her ear. "Where are your manners, Natasha? And do you realise how many times I've tried to reach you?"

"… I'm sorry, Cate," Natasha could clearly see the intrigue on Johnny's face at the mention of her aunt. "You are calling from an unrecognisable number… I just didn't expect you."

"Well that is partially on me for not informing you I've changed numbers," Cate cleared her throat. "I was at the game."

"You're at Bullworth?" Natasha blinked, unsure if she heard the right words. "Right now?"

"No, I had to leave shortly after. Your brother did very well, I am sure the scholarship will come along just fine," Cate spoke in a way that made Natasha feel almost ill. "You on the other hand… why has it only come to my attention you've quit cheerleading?"

"I didn't think it was important… and you aren't exactly easy to reach," Natasha bit her bottom lip. "Speaking of which, remember my other brother? Ben's twin? The one you've left in Happy Volts?"

"Of course I remember my dear nephew," Cate replied matter-of-factly, and Natasha could almost hear the smile in her voice. "The doctors have given me their progress report and it seems Matthew's on his way to recovering."

"Did they say anything about letting him come home?"

"No such thing was mentioned. We're all wishing for Matthew's recovery but we mustn't be hasty," Cate sighed and then there was a moment of silence. "Alright then, I've got to run. I'll be making a visit soon, Natasha. Let your brothers know. Goodnight."

"Wait, Cate-."

Natasha was left at the tone and she fought every urge to throw her phone off the cliff. It was just like Cate to swoop in unannounced, be less than no help or answers before disappearing just as fast. Since they were little it's been the same, it was just how her aunt operated and she shouldn't have even dared to hope of anything different even with their current circumstances.

"Not good?" came Johnny's voice by her ear and it was then when she realised she had been completely lost in her own thoughts. "That was your aunt right?"

"Yeah… as usual not helpful," she sighed as she stuffed her phone back into her pocket. She then pulled her burger out. "I'm sorry I just gotta. I'm actually so annoyed."

"What did she say about Matt?"

"Not much. Literally some pleasantries before hanging up," she stuffed the burger into her mouth and chewed vigorously. "If she had been in Bullworth the least she could have done was come see us in person."

"Maybe she knew you'd all be partying tonight," Johnny made an offhand comment as he was reaching for his food. While he was preoccupied with unwrapping his burger, he did not notice Natasha glaring at him. "… What? I'm just speculatin' it as a possibility!"

"… Well regardless…" she sighed before taking another bite. "… This is really good."

"Right," Johnny grinned. "Don't I know the best places or what."

A dull sound then appeared farther out coming from the beach, followed by another then another, it sounded almost like thunderclaps but the sky looked relatively clear. Then came a bright flash in the sky, a bright neon flower appeared before sprinkling away into the night sky.

"Fireworks, huh? That's new," Johnny noted, his tone rather unimpressed. "Didn't know the homecoming game was Fourth of July now."

"Oh, let them celebrate," she laughed. "They did win."

"Yeah alright, I'll give em' that," Johnny crumpled his wrapping up and tossed it in the bag. "So we gonna hit this party or what then?"

"Uh, no," she shook her head, nearly choking on her food. "Even if you are on your best behaviour, it's a recipe for disaster with all that alcohol and testosterone… not to mention college kids."

"You don't think I can take a couple of college guys?"

"That's exactly what I _don't_ want you to do!"

.

.

Why were they at this party?

It was the same messy affair every year.

After the homecoming game each year most cliques would gather on the beach either for an impromptu celebration for a win or just to get drunk anyway with the law enforcement willing to turn their eyes away on the special occasion. It was a rare moment of solidarity between the group of teenagers, you were having a good time celebrating Bullworth for all its worth or you got drunk enough until you were celebrating and enjoying yourself. This year would have been no different at all if that incident in the cafeteria had not occurred inciting what was probably the worst of the feud between the cliques since before Hopkins tied everyone together during his short reign.

At least it was busy this year. There were the alumni college kids but also some other kids from neighbouring towns as well. It was a relief not having to bump straight into someone they already know as soon as they stepped foot on the beach. They stopped by a mart before heading over to get some coolers and Johnny was now carrying the four-pack in one hand while leading her through the crowd with the other.

They stopped once they found the greasers who have settled on a spot by the bonfire where the other cliques were also surrounding. The boys all jumped to their feet and cheered as they watched their leader's supposed grand entrance.

"Yeesss! Johnny!"

"Johnny, Johnny!"

Oh… the testosterone… and alcohol. The worst combination imaginable.

Natasha simply smiled and nodded as they greeted her after.

"Nat, oh my gosh!" Christy squealed as she appeared from nowhere and pulled her into a warm hug along with Angie. "You're here, this is amazing! Angie, it's Nat!"

"Yup… it's me," despite her sceptic tone and the way she awkwardly patted their backs, Natasha had a genuine smile on her face as she welcomed the familiarity but also the warmth that the girls were willing to show her… putting aside that Christy was quite tipsy, it was still sweet.

"We've missed you, Natasha," Angie gave her a sincere smile once they pulled apart. "How are you? We heard about the whole uh- mess with… Lola… "

It probably was not a coincidence that Angie lowered her voice when she said Lola's name, knowing how much weight that name carried around this crowd and Natasha couldn't blame her seeing as the girl had no idea what to expect.

"… I'm alright. Still in one piece," she smiled back with a nod. "I've missed you two as well… oh um- this is Johnny and the guys."

"Hey there ladies," Lefty winked which would have been cringy if it didn't actually work and sent the girls into furious blushes.

"Don't go scaring them off now," Lucky sighed. "Don't mind him, he's had a few."

This actually felt… alright. Bizarre for sure to see parts, albeit small, of her previous life melding into her new one. She smiled when Lefty put an arm around Angie with a cheeky grin and she squeaked in shock causing Lucky to pull him off.

"You alright?" Natasha tapped Angie on the back.

"Yeah, uh wow he's very handsome," Angie spluttered back as she fixed her glasses.

"Who is?" Christy swooped in with her voice raised. "Lefty? … Lucky?"

"No!"

Angie went beet red and hid behind Natasha as Christy kept pressing for answers. Angie whispered a quick goodbye to Natasha and ran off before Christy could get another word out.

"Well there she goes," Christy rolled her eyes with a bright smile. "Let me go after her to make sure she doesn't die of embarrassment somewhere."

"Okay, you go do that," Natasha smiled as she stepped aside to make way for her. "See you later."

"Yup, see you later," she winked before running off.

Those two were a whirlwind as usual and Natasha really had not realised how much she had missed having those little girly chats and simply having friends to speak to. Christy and Angie have always been so kind to her, even after the whole fiasco where Mandy 'threw' her out; not once have the pair said an unkind thing to her or endorsed any of the nasty things Mandy said. She wondered why she had not made a better effort to speak to them better, perhaps she had just written them off in association with everything from her past that reminded her that her brother was not around.

Natasha looked around and find the pack of coolers sat on the sand next to some other drinks and a keg… of course there was a keg. She walked over and took one from the batch and tried to pat the sand off the bottle.

"Thought you weren't having any."

"Well you bought me some so I might as well," she grinned when Johnny appeared by her. "Did you plan this or something?"

"Plan what?"

"… Nothing, never mind."

"I'm guessing you just don't want to admit you're having a good time?"

"It's still too early to tell," she scoffed.

"Well don't let this ruin it but check that out," he raised his bottle up. Natasha followed his gaze and saw the most peculiar sight. It was Mandy, she was sat by herself near the group of jocks. She looked scarily thin, her face was pale and her cheer outfit was hanging loose on her small body. She already had her suspicions but the person she heard in the bathroom the other day must have been her… and it made her feel sick to know that a piece of crap like Ted has pushed her to such extremes. "Look at my boy!"

"Huh?"

She finally took notice of Peanut approaching the cheerleader.

"Uh, what is he doing?" she didn't mean to sound as disparaging as she did but Johnny didn't seem to notice her tone as he was grinning ear-to-ear watching the scene unfold.

"Taking his chance with that roid-head off somewhere," Johnny shrugged towards their right and sure enough Ted was off near the far end talking to what looked like college girls. "… There he goes, attaboy!"

To her complete surprise, Peanut has managed to hold a conversation long enough to sit down beside her. Not necessarily a bad thing at all but surprising indeed. "Oh wow," her eyes widened when she actually laughed at something he said.

"Well it's not entirely surprising considering he's been in love with her since primary school."

"Absolutely… it's just…" Natasha recalled all the times Mandy would always use to gripe about the so-called unwanted advances she would receive from the greaser… even back when they were ten. "I guess it's just unexpected on her part."

"That they would talk at all?" Johnny chuckled. "You must view my boy very poorly."

"You know I don't mean it like that," she grumbled. "… Well I am a bit worried about her…"

"After all the shit she's put you through?"

"I know she's been acting like a total bitch… but it's hard to ignore her when I see her like that."

"Like what?"

"Ill."

"What?"

"… Look this stays between us, okay," she sighed. "She used to be sick, she had gotten better and been fine for the past two years."

"What's wrong with her?"

"She's bulimic," she said quietly and Johnny gave her a look. "Like when you vomit after-."

"I know what it means," he turned back to the cheerleader. "… I wonder why I haven't noticed it before."

"Maybe because people generally expect cheerleaders to be stick thin?" she shook her head as she looked over her frail frame. "She really shouldn't be drinking when she's in that condition."

"She really shouldn't be doing anything other than getting better," he mused. His comment caught her off-guard, to this day he could still surprise her and she almost felt a bit bad that she was glad he said something in concern about the whole situation. "And she's like this because of Thompson?"

"If I had to guess…"

"Do you want me to ask Peanut to back off?"

Watching the two now, you would have thought they were friends or at least friendly acquaintances. Although she did not know Peanut that well, Johnny did and she knew he would trust him with his life which was a reassurance on Peanut's character. Plus, it's been a while since she's actually looked like the Mandy she knew as opposed to this uber-bitch persona she had decided to take on in the recent months.

"No… I mean she looks fine and it's not my place."

"Then let's enjoy ourselves and stop leering at them," Johnny put an arm around her and kissed her temple. "… But geez, it's hard being a girl ain't it?"

"Oh, absolutely," she rested her head on his shoulder.

Finally, for the first time since they got here there seemed to be a moment of peace. Yes, there was music blasting mixed in with voices filled with laughter but sitting with Johnny in their quiet corner was something that oddly soothed her. Perhaps it was also the familiarity of the occasion of homecoming and now being able to be here with someone new and feeling completely happy with how she was and the person she was with.

"Hey you two."

"Hey," Johnny greeted Ben with a nod. "Look who's here."

"I'll be damned, you actually got her here," Ben grinned. "… And look who else we have here."

Behind Ben stood some of the other football guys, then hiding behind them an expected face emerged. A jolt flew down Natasha's body and sook in a sharp intake of breath as she immediately jumped to her feet and ran over to hug the other twin.

"You're here! How is this happening?" she gasped, wrapping her arms around him and blinking rapidly as she tried her best to keep her tears at bay. But alas, she let out a little sob when she felt him hugging her back.

"We sprung him out, that's how," Ben chuckled as he patted her back. "Where's my hug?"

"You don't get one, man," Matt waved Ben's hand away with a laugh. Over his sister's shoulder he noticed Johnny watching them and he offered him a warm smile. He patted Natasha's back and coaxed her to stop sniffling. "We're all here now, aren't we?"

"Yes," and still her sobs won't stop. "We've missed you so much. I'm not letting them take you back to that awful place."

The boys, awestruck by her cries, looked at each other and burst out laughing. Matt took her into his chest with one arm and patted her back gently. "I'm fine really, geez…"

"Always so dramatic and she hasn't even had anything to drink yet," Ben snickered. "You see what I've had to deal with? It's been a nightmare here without you to keep her in check."

"Well, I did hear Johnny's been doing a good job," Matt turned to the greaser with another smile. "Thanks for looking out for her."

"There's no need for that," Johnny shook his head. He stood up and it was only then when it hit him that he really was standing with a bunch of jocks but there wasn't a single warning bell going off in his head, even when they were bigger than he was and from a completely different world. This was the first time he came to one of these things for more than just having a night off getting drunk but actually here in solidary with these guys. And it was real this time; it felt nothing like the time they all came together in 'friendship' under the false pretence of Hopkin's rule.

Johnny watched as Natasha pulled away from her brother and let out a teary laughter at something one of the boys said. It was literally like a still-frame from a year ago, before the accident, before she hung up her cheer outfit. The only difference was this time he wasn't just a bystander.

"Johnny, you interested in beach football?" Ben called over to him. "If we grab Juri we can play three-on-three."

"Yeah, why not," he nodded back. "I could also ask if any of my guys want to play."

"That'd be sick," Ben grinned. "Let me go round up- aw shit."

It was much too early for any drunken brawls yet… so surely it was something incited on purpose. Without even seeing, Natasha already knew what it was going to be about. Ben and Luis moved first, they ran when Ted made a punch at Peanut and they reached them just before he could throw another.

"What did you say, you freak?!" Ted grabbed Peanut by his jacket. "You got a lotta nerve coming to my party and talking shit to me."

"I said what do you expect when you were chatting up some college girls?!" Peanut shouted back. "You're pathetic, Thompson! You're just a sad little boy that ain't man enough to take care of your girl!"

Natasha gulped. Who knew Peanut had it in him.

She glanced towards Johnny and noticed that he appeared quite calm about the whole situation. Perhaps it was for Peanut's sake knowing that he was standing up not only for himself but for the girl he's fancied since they were little.

"Hey, hey! Break it up now!" Ben grabbed Ted and pushed Peanut off. Even with Ben's larger stature, he had to use all his strength to pull Ted back with Luis' help. "Come on man, there's no need for any of this."

"These freaks have been getting mouthy, huh?" Ted glared back at him. "And all because your sister decided she'd spread her legs for their lead-."

Ted was then immediately thrown back to the ground by a hefty punch. "You better start watching your mouth, Thompson. We're not taking your lies and shit-talking any more so shut up and behave yourself."

"Are you crazy?! You would dare hit me?"

"Get over yourself, man," Ben shook his head. "Apart from playing on the same team we don't want anything to do with you."

"We?"

"We're not standing for it anymore," Luis spoke up. "You've been acting like an utter disgrace. It's embarrassing."

The look on his face was priceless. Ted huffed and cleaned the blood off his face with his sleeve before standing up. He glanced at each one of their faces as if he was memorising all those that have wronged him, his eyes landed on her eventually and he squinted. There were thoughts running rampant on his mind, that much was clear from his gaze but he knew better than to unleash them now knowing that he was clearly outnumbered. Instead he fixed his varsity jacket and walked off.

With Ted gone the guys dropped their composure. Natasha wasn't quite sure what had just happened and if Ted really had just been dumped by his own team… well a good portion of his team. She watched as Peanut approached Ben and gave him a sheepish smile, it looked as if it was all in good spirits though as they spoke and shared laughs. Heck, even Mandy was smiling; whether that smile meant she finally realised that there were blokes out there that would treat her better or just enjoying the attention… only time could tell. Though she wholeheartedly wished it was the former. How long ago was it since she last saw a genuine smile on her face?

 **.**

.

* * *

.

 **.**

Haven't forgotten about this. Just super slow! (sorry)

Thanks to everyone that's left a review - I really appreciate it ^_^

 **.**

.


End file.
